War of the Angels' Land
by Chibigreen
Summary: New digidestined, new powers, and the lesson of a repetitive history give future generations of a remade 02 world a chance to live...or die. *Ch. 16 & Epilogue up; FINISHED*
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon.

Prologue 

Hundreds of years ago, the Digital World collided with the Real World when the current Chosen Children finally failed to protect both worlds, even after a century long partnership that humans had had with Digimon.

The end result was known as the Digital Realization.

As the two dimensions twisted unrecognizably for a harsh year that almost killed off many of the human race and Digimon, the two worlds merged.  A new world was formed that combined the Digital World and the Real World, making the new world almost twice as large as the former real one.  However, the destruction that had occurred prior to the merging left many parts from both worlds in ruins.

In the part of the world that had at one point been the United States of America, anarchy ruled for hundreds of years, as it had also done in many other parts of the world.  Slowly a new order began to rise, and the monarchy that formed had an order of hierarchy based upon the partner Digimon that almost all humans had.  Vaccine angels were the most valued types of Digimon, and the lowest forms were the Virus devils.  Because of this, the kingdom was known as the Angels' Domain.

If a person did not have a Digimon partner, the laws ensured that the human without a partner would be killed at the age of five.  The wait gave the child a chance, albeit a small one, to find a Digimon to become partners with.  This was useful for the reason that Digimon without human partners wandered the world, and, though generally they were not as intelligent as partnered Digimon, they could occasionally cause trouble for the many kingdoms of the world.

At five, another event occurred that determined a child's rank in the world.  The child's DNA and the Digimon's data were analyzed and tested to determine what the Digimon would most likely Digivolve into.  There seemed to be a decreasing difference between DNA and data.  If a child did not have an angel Digimon, but it was found that their Digimon would turn into an angel, they were still sent to the capital of the Angels' Domain to be trained as nobles.  On the other hand, people with demon Digimon were turned into servants or outcasts, and occasionally both the partner and the Digimon were killed.

Over hundreds of years, the Angels' Domain had grown to cover the area that had been the continental United States and Alaska.  The Mississippi River had acquired a soft, mysterious glow when the Realization had occurred.  It was now called the River of Light, and along its banks was the city called Sanctus.

Sanctus was built on top of the remains of a city called St. Louis.  It was now a large city, built mostly in white stone that covered both banks of the Light River for miles around.  The only thing left of the ancient city was its huge arch, and this had, during the Digital Realization, become completely made out of Chrome Digizoid.  It was now called Heaven's Gate, and to its left rested the Imperial Palace.  The palace was very tall and constructed purely from white marble and Chrome Digizoid.  It covered more than three square miles of land if you included the gardens that surrounded it.  An impressive white wall separated it from the rest of the city.

To the right was the military's center of control for the entirety of the Angels' Domain.  It was a building that ranged from two to ten stories tall, also made of white marble and Chrome Digizoid.  It took up an area of almost five square miles because of what it encompassed.  On the outside was a wall that was even thicker than the one of the Imperial Palace.  Inside of that were many outdoor training areas.  Inside the square made by the training areas rested the command center itself, which also contained countless indoor training areas, as well as administrative offices.

Here the special guards of the royal palace were trained.  And here in a training arena lying near the northeast corner of the center was a young Imperial Knight-in-training and his partner Digimon, Tapirmon.

~**TBC**~

**Author's Note:** So, what did you think of that?  This was an interactive fic, but character slots are all filled.


	2. Heart's Sorrow

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon.  Poor me.

**Notes to People who Submitted Characters**

yamatos.girl – Sorry, but you can only submit real Digimon for partners.  But, as it's a bit hard to find angel Digimon, I decided that any powerful Vaccine Digimon of the Mythical or Holy types (i.e. Unimon, Veedramon, etc.) could make a character a princess.  I sent you an e-mail regarding this.

Fallen Angel – Er, this doesn't happen in the Tamer's world, sorry.  And the Digivices are in a different style than the D3's, D-Arcs, or regular Digivices.  And there is no magic.  I explained most of this in an e-mail I sent to you.

Steel knight – Your entry was fine.  Sho will be in the fic, but I don't know exactly when he'll appear. 

**Chapter 1: **Heart's Sorrow

"Hey, brainless!" yelled the intimidating drill sergeant at the younger boy and his Digimon.  The voice resounded throughout the gray and lifeless stadium.  The older man was wearing whit, indicating his seniority over the cadet, who was in a light shade of gray.  "Get a move on!  The other cadets have already gone!"  The sergeant gestured to a group of young people standing off to one side.  A couple of them were tittering at the familiar scene between their commanding officer and the cadet.

The boy just continued to stand with a slight smile and an innocent expression on his face.

The boy's name was Phloem [1].  He had emerald green eyes that always held a calming, dreamlike quality, and he usually was smiling to attempt to pass on his smile to the people around him and help cheer them up.  Often people did smile when they saw his familiar slightly mussed brown hair and kind face.

Phloem had been training under his drill sergeant ever since he had been drafted into the army at the age of five.  Now, ten years later, he was facing a second test.  Nonetheless, he and Tapirmon were facing down the hulk of the drill sergeant with apparently no fear.  The genie-like tapir Digimon was levitating as usual at Phloem's side as the sergeant continued to roar at them.  The sergeant's Leomon was leveling a glare at the both of them, but he looked more like an irritated parent than anything else.

"Do you hear me, idiot?  Your Digimon needs to evolve, and he'll do it _now_ if you know what's good for you!" shouted the exasperated officer.

The boy threw a casual salute.  He smiled as if he was about to agree, but he said, "Tapirmon sees no need to evolve for this test, sir."  Tapirmon nodded slightly.

The sergeant sighed in frustration.  Almost everyday he got a headache from talking to Phloem.  The boy had some ideas that were completely alien to the sergeant's mind.  "Exactly _how_ do you know what he wants to do when you haven't said a word to him?" said the sergeant slowly, as if Phloem was a particularly dense child.

"It's my bond with him, sir.  I always know what Tapirmon is feeling, sir," he replied while still saluting.

"And why does it matter?" shouted the sergeant.

This finally elicited a reaction.  His saluting hand drooped, and a puzzled look crossed his face.  "Because- Because he's my partner, sir.  He's a part of me."

"Cadet Phloem," the sergeant said sharply, "You must realize that to the general population of this empire, the opinion of a Digimon is worth less then a blade of grass."

"I do, sir."

"You also must realize that some consider it treasonous to consider Digimon as little more than tamed animals – as if they were a talking parrot."

"I do, sir."

"Then explain to me why you continue to think in this manner – and show it openly to your superiors?"

"Because I believe it is wrong, sir."

The drill sergeant stared at the boy.  If he knew that it was punishable by death and torture to consider such thoughts, the boy was either very reckless or extremely brave to admit to such thoughts.  And to admit that he thought the empire was wrong… The boy must be insane to express those thoughts openly.  And then he really lost his wit when he saw the person and the Digimon standing behind the boy.

Having driven his instructor temporarily speechless, Phloem allowed his attention to drift to Tapirmon.  _//The other students are really quiet now,//_ he observed to his Digimon through their bond.  _//I think I feel a strong presence nearby.  What is it?//_

Tapirmon was careful not to glance his way, but while the cadet kept his eyes straight, the Digimon turned to look behind him.  His eyes widened.  _//Holy…// _the Digimon trailed off with a nervous gulp.  _//Pretend that you don't sense anything!  Whatever you do, don't do anything stupid.  It's High Prince Rime and his Sorcerymon!//  _Rime looked around eighteen years old and was dressed like the prince he was in a white shirt, pants, boots, and cloak with a circlet of Chrome Digizoid around his head.  Long white hair fell down to his shoulders.  He was very handsome, but he was also known for being cold and heartless.

_//No wonder the students are quiet,//_ observed Phloem.  A Sorcerymon was a really impressive Digimon to be partnered with, and Prince Rime was not a person to annoy in any way.  _//The presence has been there for about a minute.  He heard everything I said.//_

_//Unless we manage to do something really impressive, we're dead.// _Tapirmon said flatly.

The sergeant finally found his voice.  "You believe it is wrong.  Well, cadet, let's see how you fare in this battle with your sense of righteousness.  I _was_ going to have you fight a Swanmon like the rest of your class did, but I have decided to have you fight something more challenging.  Your Digimon is not allowed to evolve, and if it doesn't win it – and you – will be killed."  The sergeant really didn't want to do this to the boy, but it was his duty for the health of the empire.  He fidgeted slightly before taking a remote off of his uniform's belt and pressing a combination of buttons.

It was a Thunderbirdmon.  Like a Swanmon, it was an armor evolution.  But Thunderbirdmon was much larger than a Swanmon.  It looked as prickly as the stinger of a Flybeemon with impressive blue armor.  The armor had golden lightning marks running across it.  His tail, wings, and head were completely armored.  Along his back ran prickly light gray feathers with a metallic sheen.  His red feet also looked metal, but they had gold tips to them that matched his armor.  From beneath his armored head poked a short red beak.

Both Tapirmon and Phloem traded worried glances.  The thing looked twice as powerful as Swanmon, and the worst thing was that they didn't know its attacks, and therefore had no strategy to defeat it.

"Don't worry, Phloem.  We can do this!" Tapirmon said bravely.

Phloem smiled again and nodded, the dreamlike quality gone in his eyes as he stepped forward with his Tapirmon to face the opponent.  Now his eyes contemplated his opponent that would determine whether he – and more importantly to him, his Digimon – would live or die.

He stopped on the outside of the marked lines, though Tapirmon walked inside them, and then a electromagnetic barrier rose around the perimeter to keep them enclosed inside while still giving Thunderbirdmon room to fly.  With a screech, the flying Digimon rose up and dove down towards Tapirmon.

"Tapirmon, go left!"  Tapirmon complied, and then Phloem continued to relay information to his partner as the battle progressed.  "Right!  Right again!  Left!  Fall back!"

Tapirmon continued to dodge the dive-bombing Thunderbirdmon.  Finally the bird seemed to tire and rise up in the air.  "Is he leaving?" asked the Digimon to his partner.

Phloem frowned while looking up at the sky.  He could swear that Thunderbirdmon was glittering.  Realization dawned on him.  "Tapirmon, run!" he shouted at his Digimon.  "Get as far away as you can!"  Tapirmon began to speed away as the enemy released its attack.

"Thunderstorm!" it called out in a rough voice.  It opened its mouth and unleashed its lightning.  Tapirmon barely kept one step ahead of the bolts that struck again and again.  The bolts got closer and closer.

"Ground yourself, Tapirmon!" yelled Phloem as the lightning got even closer.  His usually melodious voice was tight with worry.  Then the lightning covered his Digimon, and he could not see anything.

Then Phloem grinned as the lightning cleared.  Tapirmon had been able to follow through with their strategy against lightning attacks.  His smoky hind legs were sunk into the ground, and his solid forelegs were also pressed down to the dirt.  His head was lifted so that the lightning had run straight through him and into the packed soil beneath him.  Phloem could feel that Tapirmon was slightly damaged, but it was nothing compared to what could have happened.  Thunderbirdmon was looking at the ground in disbelief that the little Rookie had survived.

That was when Tapirmon unleashed his attack.  "Nightmare Syndrome [2]!"  He unleashed all of the bad dreams he had eaten and stored for a desperate moment like this one.  The blackness rose in the air and hit Thunderbirdmon in the unarmored spot just beneath his beak.  The attack made the armored Digimon reel as if drunk and fall to the ground.  It tried to get up, but it collapsed again and lied still.  The barrier was then let down.

As protocol required, Phloem turned and saluted the sergeant.  "Sir, the target has been defeated."  Tapirmon came to once again float at his side.

The sergeant nodded, careful to not let any of his relief show on his face.  "Good-"

That was when the high prince interrupted.  "His fight has not ended yet," he said coldly.  "The Digimon is still alive."  The prince smiled in an unfriendly way and pushed back a strand of his long white hair.

The sergeant gulped inaudibly.  "But, your highness, it is not required for cadets-"

"It does not matter," interrupted Rime.  "He spoke treasonous words, and he should kill this wild Digimon before it can cause any more trouble in the world."

"Your highness-" Phloem began to try to excuse himself from having to do that.

"All things that cause trouble should be done away with," the prince interrupted again with a meaningful glance at him and Tapirmon.

Knowing that they were being forced into this, Phloem and Tapirmon slowly turned and walked towards the fallen Thunderbirdmon.  They reached it, and compared to it, Phloem felt small.  _It is actually quite beautiful to look at when it's not trying to kill you_, Phloem thought to himself.

He felt wetness on his cheek, and he realized that he was crying.  Tapirmon also was.  "Tapirmon, I- I really don't want to do this," he said brokenly.

"I don't know if I can," replied Tapirmon.  "Remember when we were five, and I finally found you after those long years of searching?"  Phloem nodded.  "I had to protect you from the Digimon that were sent to kill you.  I even evolved to Apemon to help you.  But before I could destroy them for hurting you, you stopped me and made me promise never to kill a living being.  Even when you were five, you were that kind."

"Yeah, I still have a scar from that incident… But I'm glad you didn't kill them, aren't you?"

Tapirmon nodded.  "I was very glad, afterwards, that you stopped me.  It wasn't the fault of the Digimon that they were doing what they had been taught.  But it would have been my wrong to destroy them in a wild rage."

"Killing something that isn't fighting back would be a twice as bad, wouldn't it?" Phloem asked.  The smaller Digimon nodded.  "That's what I thought.  Tapirmon, I don't think we should kill this Thunderbirdmon.  I'm sure it didn't want to hurt us, either.  Even if we die…"

"…at least it will live," finished Tapirmon.  "I agree with you."  They both looked sadly at it.

The Thunderbirdmon cracked an eye open at them.  "You two are pathetic," it said in its rough masculine voice.  "I can't believe that you two idiots beat me."

Tapirmon stiffened.  "Hey, that's not polite!"

"So what?  Actually, I was supposed to lose."

They looked at it in alarm.  "What?"

"I was supposed to lose.  You two have been chosen."

"Chosen?" asked a clueless Phloem.

"Yes, chosen.  I've been sent here, and to complete it, you need to finish me."

They were even more shocked now.  "You _want_ us to kill you?" asked Tapirmon.

"Yeah, you heard me.  Ya have to.  If ya don't, I'll be forced to attack you again and again until ya do destroy me."

"But, why?" Phloem asked with tears running down his face.  He did not want to.  He really did not want to with all of his heart.

The Thunderbirdmon sighed.  "Damn, I don't want to upset ya, kid, but ya really need to do this.  Please, just do it."

Phloem shook his head.  He didn't think he could under any circumstances.

It looked at him pleadingly.  "Don't worry, I won't really be dead.  Most of ya humans don't know this, but a Digimon can come back as long as he has a partner.  So… just kill me, okay?"

"You have… a partner?" asked Tapirmon sadly.  "Won't he miss you?"

"That's right.  I'm still searchin' for him, though.  I have been searching for him for a long, long time, but I can never find him… Maybe if ya kill me, I'll be closer to him when I reappear.  So, please…"

Phloem looked the Digimon straight in the eye.  There, he saw only truth and longing.  There was no anger, no pain, and no sorrow.  "Tapirmon, let's do it."  Phloem bowed his head.  "I believe… No, I _know_ this is the right thing to do."

Tapirmon looked at him questioningly.  "Are you sure?"  Phloem nodded while still looking at the ground.  "…Okay."  He gathered up his power again, and once again unleashed the darkness of bad dreams.  "Nightmare Syndrome!"  It struck the Thunderbirdmon straight through his head again.

The Thunderbirdmon seemed to smile as it turned dissolved into data.  Phloem and Tapirmon watched with tears of grief running down their faces when they heard a voice spoken so softly, it was as if it was into their minds.  _"Thanks.  And… follow your own beliefs…  If you find something interesting, it'll be from me and the people that sent me.  Goodbye…"_ The last of the data faded, and so did the voice.

Eyes watering at the pain in their hearts, Tapirmon and Phloem turned as one and walked towards the sergeant and Rime.  A few feet away from both, Phloem saluted even as tears dripped to the ground.  "Your highness, the target has been destroyed," he said emotionlessly.  Both Rime and the sergeant nodded, and the high prince left the training grounds.

The drill sergeant and the other cadets threw some unsure looks at Phloem.  He could hear some whispers.  "Did you see what he just did?"  "He _killed_ a Digimon."  "I didn't think he could do it…" "How could he do something like that?"  Phloem looked down, not able to meet any of their eyes.

Finally the sergeant dismissed them, but Phloem continued to just stand alone except for Tapirmon.  "It's okay… We did what the Thunderbirdmon wanted us to do…" the Digimon sadly tried to comfort his partner.

"I know it was the right thing," whispered Phloem as tears traced salty paths down his cheeks.  "But then… why do I feel so horrible?"  The Digimon couldn't answer that.  He floated closer to his partner and hugged him.  The two stayed in the embrace for a while as they tried to rid their hearts of sorrow.

~**TBC**~

[1] "Phloem" is pronounced like "Floam".  In plants, the phloem is the part of the vascular system that carries nutrients to parts of the plant (think of it like veins, but for plants).  Vascular systems also provide some support to the plant, which is why mosses are so short: they don't have one.  And this was your useless fact for the day.

[2] I'm using the Japanese attack because I like its name more than "Waking Dream".

**Author's Notes: **I'm not accepting any more characters.


	3. State of Decay

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon.  I do own Phloem 'cause he's an original character, but I don't own Digimon.  And Pixie Sugienna belongs to yamatos.girl, while Brian O'Conner and Magnus Dean belong to Fallen Angel.  AlanAlectai owns Alan Aramyr Gerai.

**Notes to People who Submitted Characters/Resubmitted Information**

yamatos.girl – I got the new information.  Your character's making her appearance this chapter… ^__^ Hope you like it!

Fallen Angel – The new information is fine, except I might change the bit about assassination attempts.  Your two characters are appearing in this chapter, too.  ^__^  And don't worry; I planned to have some of the characters related to the Digidestined in the first place.

AlanAlectai – Er, there's already a person with AeroVeedramon as the ultimate form, sorry.  Maybe you could change it to Paildramon or something else?  You don't have to if you don't want to, but it'd be a bit more convenient for me.  Alan sounds like a very interesting character.  ^___^

**Notes to Other Reviewers**

BGR – I put italics into my story by using Microsoft Word.  Then I use Word to "Save as Web Page", and it just comes out the way it does.  ^__^ I hope this helps.  And you also made yourself the first person-who-reviewed-my-story-without-submitting-a-character.  Congratulations!  ^___^

**Chapter 2: **State of Decay

High Prince Rime stood in a dark room.  The only light at all came from an open doorway behind him, and even that seemed to glimmer weakly in the darkness that seemed to be drawn to the powerful prince.  His Sorcerymon waited quietly by the door while it waited, completely silent and motionless, for him to finish his business here.

"Have you anything to say?" asked a tired voice feebly, "Or are you just going to stand there and let that painful light in?"  The voice sounded slightly grumpy, as if its owner had just been woken from a sleep that was more bearable than life.

"Of course I have something to report," said Prince Rime smoothly and slightly coldly.

"Well, then, get on with it," the voice snapped, still sounding as if it were in a dream.  "And be more polite about it."

Rime smiled frostily and bowed slightly.  "Of course, Sire.  I saw an act today that completely broke the oldest and most sacred of our laws.  A boy was speaking of his Digimon as if it were more than a tool granted to the superior human race."

"Ha!  I bet that occurs all of the time in the city.  It does not matter.  Those closest to us will always have our views, and they will protect us from any rebellion that the common folk can take up," the voice scornfully commented.  "That is, after all, what the Imperial Guard is for."

The smile on Rime's face became more sarcastic, but not one bit friendlier.  "Ah, but that, Sire, is where I witnessed the event.  The boy, a young man around fifteen years of age, in the Imperial Guard was arguing that he should take the advice of his Digimon.  What is more, he did, and his Digimon, at the time a Rookie, defeated an Armored Digimon!  A strong combination of human and Digimon, don't you agree?"

"What?"  The voice finally seemed to be awake.  "A Rookie defeated an Armored?  That is practically unheard of!  It is not possible!"

"Ah, true.  That is usually correct, Sire, but something about this pair was different."

The voice ignored Rime.  "And the boy was treasonous, you say?  Well, Rime, you know what to do.  It is good to have an example once in a while anyway.  It keeps the peasants in line."  The voice yawned and grew tired again.  "Do go take care of it.  But be sure to ask you fiancée's advice before allotting him his punishment!"

A satisfied smirk glanced across Rime's face as the owner of the voice began to snore.  "Of course, my dear father, the all powerful emperor of the Angels' Domain."  He turned swiftly on his heel, causing his cloak to swirl around him as currents of snow did in the worst winter's blizzard.  Within a few steps, the young prince was out of the room.  As the Sorcerymon closed the door, the room was left in blackness yet once again.

Outside, Prince Rime walked past the four pairs of white-wearing guards, each with a Terriermon, that watched over his father's room.  He paused when he came to the last pair.  "You two," he stated.  The straightened and saluted.  "Go and fetch a Imperial Guard cadet that goes by the name of Phloem and his Tapirmon.  Bring him to the court.  He has been accused of treasonous beliefs."

"Yes, sir!" they said in unison.  They saluted again and went down the hall in a quick march.

Rime allowed one fleeting, cruel smile to cover his face before continuing to walk down the pristine white marble halls.

******

Pixie Sugienna sighed as she looked around the Imperial Court from her place behind a large white marble pillar.  It promised to be a long and boring day yet again.  "Sometimes I wish I didn't have such a good Digimon," she muttered to no one.  The palace was just much too white, she decided as she looked at the gigantic room with her steel blue eyes.  

The court was in a huge circular room, and many ornamental pillars, such as the one she was hiding behind, were placed in around the edge of the room.  The thrones' circular dais was in the center of the room, and various marble and gold statues were placed about the room.  Large windows went from the floor to the ceiling between the pillars, and at night the room was lit by an electrically powered large, hanging crystal chandelier.

The four thrones were white, the floors, walls, and ceilings were white, and the clothes that most of the nobles wore had white in them.  The only dominantly non-white objects in the room were the various Digimon, the pale gray curtains, and the light pink dress that she was currently dressed in.  Some courtiers considered her the most colorful person in the room with her blonde hair, dyed pink at the tips, and her bright dress.

"You don't really mean that, do you?" said a playfully cheerful voice.  Pixie looked down to the ground and saw Otamamon lying there.  She was grinning, despite the mock injured tone of her voice.

"Of course not.  If I didn't have you, I wouldn't have anyone to talk to on these long, boring days."  Pixie grinned back at her Otamamon.  It was true that people with virus Digimon usually didn't reach high places, but Otamamon had quite impressive evolutions.  More importantly to most of this country, they were impressive _Vaccine_ evolutions.  If Otamamon had evolved into Gekomon, as her kind usually did, Pixie would certainly not be in the position she was today.  But perhaps that would have been a good thing.

Otamamon smiled sympathetically.  "I know what you mean.  If you weren't around, this place would be _unbearable_!"

"I think that most people here would agree with you two."  The princess and her Digimon started in surprise and turned to look at who had talked.  A young man of average height, dressed in light white armor with a Patamon on his shoulder, was smiling at them.  Even his violet eyes seemed to be smiling.  He had sandy blonde hair that wasn't short, but it wasn't long, and on his shoulder rested a Patamon, who was also smiling, albeit a bit irritatingly.

"General O'Conner!  It's not polite for you to sneak up on people!" she berated the general, who was around five years older than her own fourteen years.  The general and her would talk whenever he was at court, which was not that often.  _He_ didn't enjoy court overly much, either, except when he could joke around, usually at someone else's expense.

When he was at court, usually Brian O'Conner would talk with Pixie because he claimed that she wasn't as stupid or boring as the others at the court, and she was one of the only people not politically active.  He claimed he had enough trouble with politics in the military part of his life and he didn't need any of it in the court.

"Of course," he replied with a slightly sarcastic and innocent drawl to his voice.  "I didn't _mean_ to sneak up on you, really.  I was just, er…"

"Walking more quietly than you would normally," interjected the Patamon.

"Yeah!  I was just walking more quietly that I usually would!" said the general enthusiastically.  "Exactly!"

Pixie regarded General Brian with her usually quietness.  "Your friend isn't here.  Did you have another argument with Rime?"

He looked triumphant, but slightly embarrassed.  "Yeah, I did… And I won it, too, but the High Prince got so angry that I actually won that he permanently banned Magnus from acting as my bodyguard inside the Imperial Court."  He mimicked the Prince's cold, low voice rather accurately.  "He said, "A person with a Virus Digimon has no business guarding you." "

She shook her head with her eyes wide.  "Wow.  It must have been a _huge_ argument for him to be so angry."

"No kidding.  Do you know he actually wanted to round up commoners accused of treasonous beliefs or actions and have them shot or hanged publicly with only a mass trial between all of them?"  He rolled his eyes at the stupidity of the plan.

Pixie gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.  "He actually wanted to use the Imperial Guards in that way?  That's horrible!"  She frowned at the thought.  "He is supposed to talk to _me_ about plans like that."

"That's true," Brian said with a shrug, "but you know how he is.  After all, you're engaged to him."

She glared at him.  "Don't remind me.  I didn't have a choice, but at least I don't have to marry him until I'm eighteen.  Four more years…" she sighed.

"You're marrying a guy about four years older than you.  It could be worse," pointed out Brian.

"It could…"

Her thoughts of the future were interrupted as she noticed a quiet air overtake the court.  Both she and Brian looked around the edge of the pillar as High Prince Rime and his Sorcerymon entered the court.  Behind him was a boy around Pixie's age, but he was handcuffed and flanked by two guards and their Terriermon.  He was in the uniform of a cadet for the Imperial Guard, and he had a bewildered look on his face.  Behind him floated a Tapirmon, who looked both protective and confused at once.

Rime brought the group to a halt as he walked up to his throne, which was on the right of the larger emperor's throne.  He turned and sat comfortably on the padded chair as the cadet was forced to kneel by the guards at the base of the dais.  Rime carefully hid a smile, but both Pixie and Brian noticed the cruel look in his eyes and began to speak.

"Today, we have brought Phloem, a cadet in the Imperial Guard, before us.  In our hearing, he has spoken treasonous beliefs that he shares with his Tapirmon.  He has even followed those beliefs to the point of hesitating at following, as well as not following, the orders of his commanding officer.  As usual, the punishment, he should be publicly executed, as the law states."

A curious murmur spread throughout the hall.  It was wondered whether this was serious enough to need an execution.

"Of course a public execution is necessary!  This should be used as an example to remind the people of Sanctus of the leadership that we possess over those less fortunate.  As all of you know, crime rates have begun to climb in the city as more and more people commit crimes.  We have reason to believe that it is from the influence of their Digimon."

Pixie walked out from behind the pillar.  "That does not give sufficient reason to execute this boy!"  She walked over to the dais and took her place on the throne to the left of the queen's throne, which put her on the opposite side of the dais from Rime.

Rime was startled by her appearance, and he did not look happy.  "I'm sure you think so, but-"

With a smile, Brian walked slowly out from behind the pillar.  "I don't think so, either, Your Highness," being as politely irritating as he could.  "The High Princess is quite right when she mentions that this does not give a reason to kill the boy."

Rime glared at Brian.  Apparently, he was still annoyed from their last argument.  "I am sure that the quality of life in the city will improve once they're given a reason."

A new voice spoke up in a wavering tone.  "A-Actually, a public execution may cause them to rebel."  Everyone turned to look at a blue-haired boy of around average height with unusually large brown eyes.  He was wearing a pristine white shirt with a gold-trimmed blue vest on top of that.  He was also wearing gold-trimmed white pants and white shoes.  To his side stood a Veemon

Rime gave the boy a glare that caused the fifteen-year-old to begin to turn only a few shades darker than his shirt.  "Alan Aramyr Gerai, son of Duke Allen Gerai.  Why do you think so?"

Alan gulped.  "Ah, um, I kind of polled the people…" he mumbled as he tried to fight the panicky feeling overtaking him.

"What was that?"

"I polled the people," he said in a now-audible voice.  He steeled himself, and forced himself to continue speaking.  He hated to speak in large public places.  "I went out into the city, and I polled them on some questions."

Most of the court was looking at him in disbelief.  Both Alan and his Veemon were renowned for stupidity.  However, General Brian looked interested.  Unlike the other nobles, he had seen Alan carry out plans he had made.  He was at the bottom of many of the changes that had taken place recently, especially in the area of the treatment of servants in the castle and the poor outside of the castle.  General Brian had even helped him on some of the plans, including one that ended up with leftovers from the imperial kitchen being distributed to people who could not afford food or a place to live.  Of course, it had to be covert help, or else Rime would try to stomp out the changes just because Brian was helping to bring them about.

"May I see the results?" Brian asked politely.  Alan nodded, and he took a palm pilot out of his pants' pocket.  He pressed a few buttons, and then a holographic display appeared over the screen.  He positioned it so that it faced the prince, princess, and general, and then he pointed to various parts of the bar graph.

"More than eighty percent of those polled disagreed with the current laws regarding execution and punishment.  Seventy percent were unhappy with the current system of government, but ninety-five percent of the people said that they'd be happier with the government if a few moderate changes took place.  Also, about fifteen percent of those polled said that they were facing difficult times monetarily.  Ten percent of the total polled were already homeless."

Rime sneered, "And did you do this survey in the Recycle Sector?" he said, naming the poorest part of the city.

Alan shook his head.  "No.  I took the survey in the Light Sector."  That made heads turn in the court.  Many of the nobles lived in the Light Sector, which was one of the richest parts of Sanctus.

Rime considered this new information.  It seemed as if the whole city was in a state of decay that no one had noticed before this.  It would be very dangerous to mete out the least bit of public punishment to a cadet, as many of the cadets had been taken from parents in the city.  He looked coldly at Phloem, and then addressed the court.

"It seems that perhaps the law needs revision.  Guards, take this cadet away.  He is _not_ free to go, but his punishment will occur at a later date.  Put him in the basement dungeon."

Phloem was brought back to his feet and escorted to the dungeon.  A slightly relieved, but worried, look was now on his face.

In Alan's mind, this was still unsatisfactory.  He needed a plan, but, with help, Phloem would not be imprisoned long enough to be executed when Rime's "revisions" were finished.  Rime most definitely held an unexplainable grudge against Phloem, and Alan doubted that Phloem would even survive his stay in the dungeon if Rime had any say in it.

Unknown to him, and unknown to each other, Pixie and Brian were having similar thoughts.  And none of them were going to let even one innocent person die if they could help it.

~**TBC**~

**Author's Notes: **A BIG THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO SUBMITTED A CHARACTER!  I'm glad I decided to make this fic interactive because of the interesting characters I now get to insert in this fic.  Even if there were a couple of things to sort out, the characters were all very neat.  ^___^

I didn't get many submissions (I now have a total of five characters), so I'm filling the rest of the cast with original characters.  However, if you still want to submit one, you can.  I need more girls.  Please do it by review; my e-mail has been a bit erratic lately.

I hope I displayed all the characters sent in satisfactorily.


	4. The Seed of Change

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon.  I do own Phloem because he's my original character, so that means I also own Rime.  Pixie Sugienna belongs to yamatos.girl, while Brian O'Conner and Magnus Dean belong to Fallen Angel.  AlanAlectai owns Alan Aramyr Gerai.

**Notes to People who Submitted Characters**

First of all, a note to everyone: my e-mail has now changed.  If you need to correspond with me about a character, you can contact me at furret05@yahoo.com.  The other e-mail address was too unreliable.

Tatsu-no-Houou – Could you describe the clothing for Tatsu in a bit more detail?  I looked back at the submission, and I realized that "he mostly wears a cloak" does not help me with what he wears.  Therefore, we have the exclusion of your characters Tatsu and Sakura from this chapter.  And remember, I need a Digimon besides Guilmon for Tatsu, but Plotmon is fine for Sakura.  And Tatsu's Digivice color of blue is too similar to the blue already chosen.  Can you choose another color for him, too?

AlanAlectai – Okay, you got Paildramon!  Now everything's settled for your character.  ^__^

ChibiSora –  Fallen Angel said that he wouldn't mind his character being paired up with yours.  You'll see his character, Magnus, in this chapter.  Do you mind?  Keep in mind that I'm not sure of any pairings yet; I just want to get some potential ones yet.  And the Digivice color purple/lavender has already been chosen.  Can you choose another?

yamatos.girl – Would you mind if Pixie was paired up with Brian?

Fallen Angel – I had to make up most of Magnus's clothes in this chapter.  Are they okay, or should I change them?

SteelKnight – Don't worry; your character will be appearing next chapter.  Sorry it's taking so long, but your character just wouldn't fit in yet.

And everyone should look at another note near the bottom when you finish reading this chapter.  It regards one new thing that you have to choose.

-- -- mark dream sequences.

// // mark telepathy.

Curse words are starred out, except for the first letter.  Hey, this _is _a PG fic!

**Chapter 3: **The Seed of Change

A silent shadow, followed swiftly by a red blur, walked down the darkened halls of the palace's underground.  Though even these were made of white marble, somehow these halls seemed darker than ever because of that.  At a corner, the shadow and the red blue carefully hid around a corner when they heard footsteps approaching.

It was only a pair of guards with a flashlight.  The Imperial Guards were too lax to even check around with the flashlight, and instead they chatted amiably and passed by without notice.  Luckily, the Meramon and the Unimon that were their partners did not notice the pair, either.

When the guards had passed by and could not be heard by the mysterious pair anymore, the mysterious pair walked out into the dim light that was at every pair of crossed hallways, and their true visage were revealed.

The red blur, now visible as a Guilmon, looked up innocently at his very tall partner.  "Why are we sneaking around in the basement again?"

The teenaged male sighed and ran a hand through his blue hair.  "Because," he said patiently, "Brian wants us to help a prisoner here."  He was wearing dark clothing to obscure his figure and a leather vest for protection.  His eyes were about the same shade as his Guilmon's.

"But Magnus," protested Guilmon, "aren't prisoners in jail because they did something bad?"

Magnus Dean nodded.  "Yes, but in this case, Brian and I agree that the person didn't do anything wrong.  Rime just doesn't like him."

"Oh."  Guilmon considered this.  "How are we going to get him out?"  The pair resumed walking and passed back into the shadowy hallways.

"With your help, I think we can knock out any guards and get him out.  Though afterwards, we'll have to get him out of the city quickly if he wants to stay alive.  Rime will go on a manhunt for this kid if he hates the kid as much as Brian said."

"That'd be bad," said Guilmon.  He paused to sniff at a funny smell on the wall, and Magnus waited to see if Guilmon smelled something dangerous.  "It's okay," said Guilmon.  "I think I got the smell of a Tapirmon."

"The kid was supposed to of had a Tapirmon.  Good job, Guilmon!  Let's go."  They began to run down the long, dark halls with Guilmon leading through the labyrinth of corridors.

******

Phloem shifted uncomfortably on the stiff board that was supposed to serve as a bed.  Having nothing better to do, he had decided to try to get some sleep.  He knew he had technically done something illegal and treasonous, but that wasn't what was bothering him.

The pure boredom of being in a jail cell – apparently in solitary confinement, even – with no one but Tapirmon to talk to was too much.  It didn't help that Tapirmon refused to talk and seemed to be thinking about something.  Also, a special collar was restraining Tapirmon's power, so he could not get them out of the dark cell.  The only light in the cell was from a pale, glowing, white force field that had replaced the stereotypical metal bars ever since the Realization had occurred.

Not even a guard was standing outside his cell.  Eventually, the noiseless, dark surroundings made him drift off to sleep, even if it was on one of the most uncomfortable beds he'd ever slept on.  A dream that was an old memory came slipped into his mind.

-- I was tied to a tree in front of a line of soldiers.  There was one other kid tied onto a tree to his right.  Neither him nor I was making a sound, though I felt as afraid as I think I could be.  Tears threatened to leak out of my eyes as I thought about leaving my Mama and Dada forever.  I didn't want to, and I knew that they didn't want me to leave, either.

But now the soldiers with their scary Champions looked like they were going to hurt me.  I didn't want to be hurt.  I didn't know what to do.  Mama said that she didn't want them to "kill" me when they tore me away from her.  Is "killing" when something stops moving and wilts, like the plants that Dada and Mama grow?

Is this what happened to my older brother two years ago?  Mama mentioned him being "dead".  I missed him.  I still miss him.  He was the best big brother in the whole world.  Will someone miss me when I'm gone?

 I hope nobody does.  I don't want anybody to be sad.

Back in the small clearing I was in, a Gorillamon aimed its big gun at me.  Its partner, an intimidating man in a white uniform, said, "D*** you and all of you stupid, partnerless brats.  Why can't you just be like any normal kid?  Instead, you have to make the army go through all this f***ing trouble just to weed out you brats and make sure you don't harm our empire."

A cold, feminine voice in the background said, "There's no point in torturing the kid more.  Get it over with already.  We're on a tight schedule."

"Go ahead and fire already, Gorillamon," ordered to man.

I think I heard a voice shout, "No!  Don't hurt him!" before the gun fired.  The next thing I know, the smoke from the blast clears.  Somehow I'm still alive.

In front of me is a Tapirmon.  It seems… different… than any other Digimon I've ever seen.  It's badly injured because… because I think it took the shot for me!  Why did it do something like that?

Then the Tapirmon begins to growl like an angry Dobermon.  It growls, and growls, and then I realize that it is not a growl.  It is an angry sound, as if the Tapirmon is trying to scream at the people, but it can't.  Can't it speak?

I guess it can, because the Tapirmon started to glow.  As it glowed, it grew larger and said, "Tapirmon Digivolve to… Apemon!"  And suddenly it was not a Tapirmon, but a very enraged Apemon standing in front of me.  It was holding a large, shiny bone club in its hands, and it was glaring at the soldiers that had tried to kill me.

I closed my eyes, having a horrible feeling that something very bad was going to happen.  I heard some noises as red liquid landed on me.  What I heard was- --

Phloem sat up in his bed, breathing hard and sweating.  He hated that dream.  He absolutely hated it.  Slowly he calmed down and went back to sleep.  This time it was not a memory.

-- _An egg is sitting in front of me.  I least, I think that it is an egg.  It is blue and yellow with a weird, jagged knife-like protrusion coming from its top.  On the side facing me, I could see a blue symbol that looked similar to a yin-yang with a curved swish coming from the two halves of it._

_I look around at my surroundings.  Tapirmon is floating by my side, as he usually is.  We seem to be in an endless plane.  The floor and sky – if there was a sky, it was the same color as the ground – were a shade of cool, soothing green. However, though green is my favorite color, it was the egg that kept my attention.  Tapirmon was also focused on it._

_The egg…_

_It reminded me of Thunderbirdmon's armor.  But that's silly, right?  Thunderbirdmon is gone…_

_"What is that?" I asked Tapirmon.  Tapirmon knew much more about the world than I did.  I have a feeling that he's traveled alone for a long time, until he met me._

_To my surprise, he spoke out loud.  Usually he only uses the mind-to-mind bond, unless he is attacking or evolving.  Perhaps this didn't count as "out loud" as it was in a dream.  I knew it was a dream, somehow.  Sometimes a person can't tell, but this time it was as clear as if it were written in the air in front of me._

"I think that it's a Digimental…" he said.  "But…" He fell silent, but I didn't prompt him.  He would continue when he felt like doing so.  "Those haven't been seen, let alone used, for hundreds of years."  Catching my confusion by reading my thoughts, he elaborated, "A Digimental was once a tool to help a Digimon evolve.  It could only be used with the help of a human partner – a Chosen Child or Digidestined."

_"Why is it here?  I thought that Digidestined were only a legend or a fairy tale."_

_Tapirmon shook his head.  "No, they weren't.  I knew one of them; a Gatomon…"_

_That stunned me.  "Tapirmon, just how old are you?"_

_"That doesn't matter.  What matters is that I have no idea why this thing is here!"_

_//You have been Chosen,// said a voice like wind chimes into their minds._

_"What?" Tapirmon asked.  Both of us did not understand.  The intrusion into their thoughts had startled them._

_//You have been Chosen because you carry a seed of change within you.  You can change what it wrong…//_

_We continued to listen as the voice went on.  The voice's music was something that calmed the heart and made the body relax.  It was something with no malicious intent behind it._

_//You can change the world… Right the wrongs… Make it as it once was…//_

_"How?" I asked to no one in particular.  I wanted to help, if I could.  That is why I had voiced my beliefs in the first place._

_As if in response, the Digimental lifted up from the ground.  It began to glow, and its shape began to shift._ --

******

Magnus, Pixie, and Alan were looking at a standoff outside Phloem's cell.  Both Pixie and Alan looked somewhat shamefaced.  "Hello, Magnus," said Pixie to General Brian's tall bodyguard.  "What a coincidence…" she trailed off.  Otamamon shifted in her arms under Magnus's glare.

"Really," he said sarcastically.  Guilmon was just staring between the three humans and their Digimon.  "Did both of you come to rescue this kid?" he asked, jerking his thumb towards the kid who was obliviously sleeping in his cell.

"Maybe…" said the princess who was no longer in pink.  She was wearing a much more casual black turtleneck and a khaki skirt.  "Did you?"

"Who's the other kid?" he asked instead.

Alan stared at him, and the wide, brown eyes shielded by his glasses were slightly creepy looking in the dim light, though a few strands of the shoulder-length hair drifted into them.  "My name is Alan Aramyr Gerai.  This is my partner, Veemon.  It's nice to meet you, Mr. Dean," he said with a friendly and open smile.  Veemon was standing protectively in front of Alan.

Magnus was not impressed.  Alan was renowned for stupid mistakes, and so was he Veemon.  "Okay.  You two get out of here."  Their looks of protest didn't make him relent a bit.  "I can do this better than you two can."  And all of them knew it was true.  Magnus was well known – and occasionally hated for – his ability to protect Brian from harm and his fighting skills in general.

"I'm not going," said both Pixie and Alan.  Magnus sighed; this could make his job much more complicated.  All of them wanted to rescue Phloem.  Pixie's reason was that she knew his treatment was unfair, Alan just wanted to do what he believed was right, and Magnus was doing this job because Brian had asked him to.

Any fighting was stopped by everyone noticing a green light emitting from the boy and the Tapirmon.  It was so bright that they could not see anything through it.  Slowly, the bright light faded, leaving only a few things in the room changed.  The changes were that the force field seemed to have been turned off, the collar was removed from Tapirmon, and the other was a green, watch-like device strapped around Phloem's wrist.

Slowly Phloem woke up as the other three humans and their Digimon stared as Phloem and Tapirmon simply got up and walked out of the cell.  Phloem was examining the device on his wrist and seemed not to notice them until he looked up at them, and then he smiled.

He felt strangely happy for some reason, and he guessed that it might have to do with the dream.  In his mind, Tapirmon agreed.  _//Probably.  Now why don't you say "hi" to these people?  They're staring at us, you know.//_

Phloem turned his attention back to the three humans and three Digimon standing in front of him.  "Oh, hello.  You're not hostile, are you?  Do you know that I just had the strangest dream?"  He regarded them closely, but his smiled remained on his face.  He looked towards Pixie.  "Aren't you the High Princess?  Thank you for saving my life earlier."  His attention turned to Alan.  He didn't recognize him, but Tapirmon told him who Alan was.  "Tapirmon is saying that you're the person who did the statistics thing.  Thank you, too, for saving my life."  He turned to Magnus.  "And, uh, you are…?"

"Magnus Dean."

"Uh, okay," said Phloem.  He didn't recognize the name from anywhere.  "Hello, Mr. Dean.  And it's nice to meet all of your Digimon, too.  I'm sure that if law didn't require them to act dumb, most of them would have a lot to say.  Even Tapirmon has a lot to say."

_//Guards are coming in about two minutes.  If they came to rescue you, they'd better get you out of here.  They seem friendly enough.  And I do_ not _have a lot to say.//_

"Never mind.  Tapirmon says that he doesn't have a lot to say.  He also says that guards were coming down here in about two minutes, you seem trustworthy, and he says that if you wanted to rescue me, we might want to leave quickly."

Magnus currently felt that this kid was too insane to bother rescuing if he thought he heard Digimon speak without them opening their mouths, but the kid did seem to know some things that were pretty unusual.  He didn't understand how the kid had gotten advice from a silent Digimon, but he seemed to be telling the truth about everything.  And if he was right about the guards, then they should leave quickly.  "You are one strange kid.  Let's go to a place where we can talk this whole "rescue" idea over." 

"Okay!  Can we go now?"  The others nodded in agreement.  Something about him reassured them that he was reliable and trustworthy.  They began to hurry down the corridors to one of the exits with Pixie in the lead.  She knew more about the palace than even Magnus did because of the time she spent exploring it to get away from her duties.

As he ran, Alan wondered at the strange watch the boy was wearing.  Its "D" symbol on it he had only seen once before, and he recalled it was in a book about the legend of the Digidestined.  The boy, he decided, might be one that should be listened to, if his so-called watch was what Alan thought it was.

If any one of the Digimon or the humans had been asked exactly then about why Phloem and Tapirmon were so different, any one of them would have thought that it was because the pair were somehow different.  The duo had a feeling of some mysterious kind that contained an energy that could change the world.  

~**TBC**~

**A Few More Notes to People Who Submitted Characters** (On the Matter of Digivices)

We have lots of these today. ^__^  Anyway, this has to do with Digivices and such.  Basically, you get to choose which Digimental turns into your Digivice.  The basic thing is its first come, first serve.  There are exactly eight more people that have been submitted, and there are eight more crests for a person to have.  Choose one of them.  Thank you for participating in this fic.

Digimentals left to choose from: Courage, Reliability/Faith, Sincerity/Purity, Knowledge, Love, Hope, Light, and Kindness

Digivice colors that have been chosen: white, black, pink, blue, silver, purple, green

**Author's Notes: **ANOTHER HUGE THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO SUBMITTED A CHARACTER!  The slots are now filled!  I'll be sure to keep it as straight and clear (character-wise) as I can.  But expect plot twists!

Bleah.  This "seed of change" thing kept on making me think of the Revolutionary Girl Utena movie.  Now, that was one _freaky_ movie.  People turning into cars and such…

Just a note:  If I do a romance in this fic, I'll go _maybe_ as far as kissing, if I feel like it.  Otherwise, it just might be a ton of warm-and-fluffy-feeling scenes.  I love waff! ^__^


	5. Blazing Black Ice

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon.  I do own Phloem because he's my original character, so that means I also own Rime.  Pixie Sugienna belongs to yamatos.girl, while Brian O'Conner and Magnus Dean belong to Fallen Angel.  AlanAlectai owns Alan Aramyr Gerai.  And now appearing… ChibiSora and SteelKnight with their respective characters, Relaina Michet and Sho Kania!  Kurai Happatai, made by PrincessKitty-Chan and I, is also appearing this chapter.  PrincessKitty-Chan gave the basic idea of Kurai Happatai a while ago, and I pretty much made up the rest for this chapter…

**Warnings:** Yeah, this is a PG fic… but a fight scene in this got slightly bloody.  Reader discretion is advised… kind of…

**Notes to People who Submitted Characters**

These have now officially been moved to _after_ the story itself.  All participants may want to have a look at the notes.

~*~  ~*~ marks flashbacks

--  -- marks dream sequences.

//  // marks telepathy.

Curse words are starred out, except for the first letter.  Hey, this _is_ a PG fic!

Chapter 4: Blazing Black Ice 

Guilmon looked cautiously around the corner.  Behind him were Magnus, Phloem and Tapirmon, Pixie and Otamamon, and Alan and Veemon.  He sniffed, and when he did not smell anyone he turned sideways and nodded at Magnus.  "It's clear," he said happily.  Everyone continued forward when the all clear was signaled.

After a few doors they were finally at their destination.  A plaque above the door was inscribed with Brian's name in silver.  The first room was a large open hall for greeting guests, but it was currently unoccupied.  They continued through the hall to a slightly open door.  Magnus walked in first, only to displace a water bucket.  However, he moved quickly out of the way, and the bucket instead landed on Phloem's head.

Phloem, now sopping wet, carefully removed the bucket from his head.  He was still smiling, even if his slightly long brown hair was now plastered against his head.

"Oops," said a repentant voice.  Brian's Patamon flew out from under a mahogany desk placed in the center of the room.  "That wasn't supposed to hit him.  Magnus, why did you move out of the way?  It was a perfect shot!"

"Which is _why_ I moved out of the way," countered Magnus reasonably.  He looked at Phloem.  "You all right?"

Phloem nodded.  "I'm fine."  Tapirmon went down to the bucket and picked it up.  "Tapirmon, that would be rude," said Phloem to a comment Tapirmon had mentally made.  "Throwing the bucket at Patamon would solve nothing, right?"

_//Right, but he deserves it for dousing you with water.//_

"He wasn't planning on dousing _me_.  It was completely an accident, so he does not deserve to be hit with the bucket."

Both Alan and Magnus were starting to get suspicious of how Tapirmon and Phloem were acting.  Phloem seemed to reply to things Tapirmon didn't say, and Tapirmon never made a sound.  Alan had a guess about what was going on, but he didn't believe it was possible.  Magnus also had a guess, and it just made complete sense.

At that point, Brian came in from another room.  He seemed a bit surprised to see all the people gathered in his living room because he had only expected Magnus and Phloem.  He threw a look at the drenched Phloem, the annoyed-looking Tapirmon, and the apologetic expression on Patamon's face.  "Patamon, you missed Magnus again, didn't you?"  Both Patamon and Magnus nodded.

"That's right, Brian," said Patamon cheerfully.  "And then this kid was walking in after Magnus, and he got soaked instead!"  Tapirmon threw a glare at Patamon.

"That is funny," Brian replied just as good-humoredly.  Tapirmon switched his glare over to the human.  "Hey, calm down!  It was just a joke.  Why don't you get dried off in the bathroom?  There should be some extra towels in there.  It the first door to the right, down that hallway," he said as he pointed.  Phloem nodded and walked where he was shown with Tapirmon following.  After the past couple of days, nothing surprised him anymore.  Having a prank played on him by a young general's Digimon was nothing compared to getting imprisoned.

Once Phloem was gone, Brian addressed the other two in the room.  "Hi, Pixie, and hello again, Alan.  I bet you two tried to rescue Phloem too, right?"

Both of them nodded.  "That's right," said Pixie.  "You know I don't like what Rime does."  She shrugged.  "So I just snuck down there and was planning to get him out.  I ran into Magnus, and we all came here with him, and then Phloem got hit with that bucket of water..  Does Patamon play pranks on Magnus all of the time?"

Magnus spoke up.  "Brian, that prank was meant for the kid, wasn't it?"

Brian grinned sheepishly.  "Actually, yes.  I used my resources to look up information on a certain Cadet Phloem to see why Rime hates him so badly.  Here's what I found out.  He comes from a long line of farmers called the Greenhill family.  He had one older brother who didn't have a Digimon and was killed at the age of five.  Phloem reportedly did not have a Digimon either, and he was also to be executed on his fifth birthday.  There his profile said that he experienced a "traumatic event" and was not killed.  Instead, he suddenly had a Digimon and a week later, he was tested and sent to the Imperial Guard for training as a soldier."

"A "traumatic event?"  What do you mean by that, sir?" asked a curious Alan.

"It doesn't say.  However, I did look up the history of the execution squads, and on that same day ten years ago, the execution squad scheduled to kill the same Phloem Greenhill and another child was "killed in duty."  I suppose that means that Phloem must've received his Digimon then.  And get this: the execution squad contained the emperor's former mistress and the mother of High Prince Rime, Lady Fala."

"Oh!" gasped Pixie.  "Could a person like Phloem actually kill someone?  He seemed so innocent!"

"Coming from someone younger than him, Miss Sugar-"

"Don't call me that."

The general smiled slightly.  "Coming from someone younger than him, Miss Sugienna, I believe that he must appear pretty darn innocent.  Is there anything strange about the kid?"  Magnus thought for a minute, and Alan had a reflecting look on his face.

"He seems to speak silently with his Digimon.  It's like they're telepathic with each other," Magnus said tentatively.  "I'm not sure about this, but the only other explanations are the kid is lying or insane."

Pixie nodded in agreement.  "Telepathy does make sense.  He didn't seem to be lying.  And you forgot to explain how _we_ didn't get him out of his cell.  Right, Otamamon?"

"That's right!" exclaimed the amphibious virus from Pixie's arms.  "The whole place glowed a bright green, and then it was like every single security system in the place had been shut off!  Even the restraining collar on that Tapirmon was off.  And those two just walked out of there like it was normal.  But, the two are pretty special.  All Digimon can recognize a human like him when they see one if they know what to look for."

"Then it was what I thought it was!" exclaimed Alan.  "He had a Digivice!"

The other three humans' jaws opened in surprise.  "He has a Digivice?  Aren't those just old legends?" queried Magnus.  "Were did he get it?"

He was answered not by Alan, but by Phloem.  "It was a gift."  Phloem was back in the room, and he was again smiling at them all.  "It was a gift that Thunderbirdmon carried to me."

"Thunderbirdmon?"

"A Digimon that the prince made us kill," said Phloem as he put a hand on Tapirmon's head.  Phloem lost the smile, and he now had a profound expression of sorrow on his face.  "Thunderbirdmon didn't mind, and in fact he told me to kill him.  He carried our Digivice to us.  He called it a "gift" from someone else."  He traded glances with Tapirmon.  "Is there anything else you would like to know, sir?" he asked to Brian.

Brian nodded.  "So, you're a Digidestined… Did Rime know that?  Is that why he wants you dead?"

"I do not know why the High Prince wishes to kill me.  I have never done anything against him."

"Never?" asked Magnus.  "Have you ever killed anyone other than Thunderbirdmon?"

Magnus had asked just to see if the hints about him murdering an entire troop of soldiers was true.  He had not asked to try to intimidate Phloem or make him uncomfortable, but Phloem's eyes widened and his breathing became shallow as he stared off into space.

Sobs escaped between his fast gasps of air.  "I didn't… Tapirmon didn't… Why?  Why did they… did they want to kill us?  Apemon?  Where… where did it come from?  It saved me… No!  The screams… Apemon, Apemon… killing… blood… NO!"

~*~ _He could feel the ropes, tight against his hands and holding him in place as the Apemon moved towards Gorillamon. It had a horrible, terrifying, enraged sneer covering its face as it raised its metal bone club.  He could only see the side of its face, but he was still trembling with fear, even if the wild Digimon had saved him._

_The Gorillamon tried to destroy it as the Apemon turned towards the white ape.  "Energy Cannon!" the Gorillamon cried.  A blast of bright energy shot from the cannon.  Apemon simply swung his bone club and shot it back at the Gorillamon.  But instead it missed, and it hit the Gorillamon's partner instead.  The muscular man went down, gasping in surprise at the hole through his stomach._

_Almost mercifully, Apemon destroyed the surprised Gorillamon. "MEGA BONE STICK!"   As his partner disappeared into data, the man also bled his life away and died._

_The rest of the execution squad now attacked the Apemon, but their Digimon did not have enough time to evolve to Champion before being taken down by the Apemon.  "METALLIC FUR!"  As he swept among the Rookies, they quickly dissolved into digital dust.  First a Labramon, then a Gomamon, next a Salamon… As they each died, the Apemon also made sure to take out their partners._

_Phloem looked away, crying, as the red liquid of the human's blood sprayed across him from several of the humans as their bodies connected with Apemon's blade-like fur.  He did not want to see them dying.  He did not want to live at the expense of other people's lives._

_Finally, there was only one pair left.  A Candlemon desperately tried to defend a white-haired woman.  She had been the owner of the cold voice, the one that had not wanted to watch the child tortured.  Phloem wondered briefly how she felt, and suddenly, he could sense it._

_He could sense a child running away through the woods, a scared little girl who had been able to slip away from her bindings when the battle had started.  He could sense Apemon's rage, as well as a protectiveness of… of someone?  Was it him?  He could also feel the woman's emotions, and her Candlemon's.  The Candlemon simply wanted to protect his partner to the end.  The woman, however, was a jumble of emotions.  Fear, regret about something she would leave behind, and a strange longing for an end to it all._

_The emotions disappeared as the lonely two had been obliterated.  And yet… and yet, to the very end, the woman had wanted to die.  The only reason she had been alive before that was a duty that had kept her from committing suicide._

_As that sixth sense opened, Phloem suddenly knew what all the emotions he had never understood before meant.  A new sense of maturity and responsibility hung about the young child's shoulders like a leaden cloak._

_Phloem watched, now unsurprised, as the Apemon came and cut him loose from the bonds on the tree.  He fell into the Apemon's arms, and then he realized that he could sense much more about this Apemon than anything else._

//Why…?//_ he asked, talking in a way that was so new, yet so natural to him.  _//Why…?//

_The Apemon watched him, and a sad, caring expression grew on its face._

//Why did you kill them… Apemon… Why…?//

_"I did not mean to bring you such pain, my partner.  You have _the _ability, so henceforth I will only talk to you in that way.  I will only talk out loud to attack, because in their own right, attacks will only bring pain to someone.  Speaking my attacks in front of you has only brought both of us pain."  The Apemon looked sadly around.  _//I did not mean to kill them, my partner…//

//Partner…// _Realization hit Phloem._  //You are my partner.//

//Yes,// _said the Apemon as it turned back into Tapirmon._  //I have searched for you for so long, and now I have finally found you.  And I will always, always protect you.//

_The two newly united partners grieved for their sad reunion beneath the blood-covered tree._ ~*~

"Killed…" Phloem was gasping and sobbing in the real world.  He had not told what he had relived in his mind out loud, but they had still gotten the gist of what happened.  He was shaken back into reality with a hard bump from Tapirmon.

His eyes returned to normal, and so did his breathing.  He looked around him with a startled expression.  "Sorry," he said while looking down.  "I get panic attacks when people ask me about that."

Everyone else was staring at him in surprise, and they were staring at Tapirmon in slight fear or caution, depending on the person.  He realized that they must have heard the part about Tapirmon being Apemon, and he shook his head at their reaction.

"Don't worry.  Tapirmon is _not_ like that.  He has never done anything like that since."  He smiled, albeit a bit tremblingly, at everyone to try to put them at ease.

Alan looked nervously between Phloem and Tapirmon.  "W-well, at least we know why Prince Rime hates him now, r-right?"  Phloem blinked and lost the smile.  He wanted to hear what this was about.

Brian nodded in agreement.  "True.  The woman with the white hair and the Candlemon that Phloem was mumbling about must have been Rime's mother, Lady Fala."

"It was a stupid thing to kill her!" exclaimed Alan's Veemon.

"You're one to talk," Alan muttered.

"Huh?" asked the clueless Veemon.

Alex just sighed.  "Never mind.  But now that we know why Rime hates Phloem, what are we going to do?"

"We need to get him out of the city.  If he has a Digivice, then there has to be _something_ important about him," Pixie reasoned aloud.

"Could you all please stop talking about me as if I wasn't here?" Phloem asked.  "I don't want to be killed either, you know."

"Right.  Well, we need to get you out of here quickly," said Brian.  "But what exactly did you do to get Rime mad at you in the first place?  He probably didn't know who you were right away."

A faraway look was in Phloem's eyes.  "It was actually quite a while ago, when we were both kids.  I was around seven, and…"

~*~ _Seven-year-old Phloem stood waiting in line inside the training grounds.  Low, white walls barely separated the area that he was in from the others.  All of the students in the class stood at attention in their gray uniforms with their Rookie Digimon to their right side, and their instructor – currently just as intimidating as he would be in eight years – had a strange boy with long, white hair and piercing blue eyes standing next to him and his Leomon.  Next to the white-haired boy was a Tapirmon._

_"This is High Prince-Candidate Rime Sanctus," said the instructor to the classmates of varying ages.  Most were older than Phloem, though one or two out of the twenty were slightly younger.  "He will be your new classmate."_

Later…

_Phloem was walking back to his dormitory after an extra-long one-on-one training session with the instructor.  The drill sergeant was constantly saying that he had a lot of potential, but the seven-year-old Phloem didn't really understand what he meant by that.  All he knew was that he had to work extra hard and do a bunch of things that most of his classmates didn't do.  He was so tired right now that he didn't watch where he was going and ran almost ran into someone._

_He lost his balance as he stepped to the left to avoid hitting the person and fell down on his back.  Standing above him was the High Prince-Candidate.  "You should watch where you're going, idiot," said Rime arrogantly.  "After all, I _am _of a higher rank than you."_

_"Rank doesn't matter," protested young Phloem as he stood up.  "Anyways, you have a Tapirmon, just like I do!"_

_"Rank matters a lot more than you probably think, idiot," sneered Rime.  "Besides, your Tapirmon probably Digivolves into something more suited for fighting than _thinking_.  Mine will Digivolve into Sorcerymon, which is quite a regal Digimon and fully fitting the future High Prince."_

_Both Phloem's Tapirmon and Phloem bristled at the implied insult, while Rime's Tapirmon just looked sheepish at his partner's behavior.  "You're not the High Prince yet!"_

_Threateningly, Rime grabbed Phloem's collar, choking him slightly.  "Ah, but I _will _be.  The emperor loved my mother the most, and the other candidates aren't my equals!  No one is _my _equal!!"  To prove his point, Rime lifted Phloem off of the ground and pushed him backwards as he let go.  He clearly expected Phloem to land harshly on the ground._

_Phloem did not.  He was able to twist like a cat and landed slightly unsteady on his feet.  "Well, you can't beat me at fighting!  I'm a cadet soldier of the Imperial Guard!  If there's a such thing as the Imperial Guard, then even the emperor must need someone to protect him."  Phloem's eyes widened as he ducked from a punch thrown by Rime._

_"I…don't…need…anyone…to…protect…_me_!" Rime shouted as a few of his hits began to connect.  Phloem's Tapirmon started to go in to break up the fight, but Rime's Tapirmon blocked him._

_But Phloem didn't need the protection of his Digimon in the first case.  He blocked the next punch thrown by the prince and swept away the prince's balance with a well-placed kick to the shin.  Rime fell down hard on the ground, and the ten-year-old prince stared in hatred at the cadet, who was wisely retreating from a needless fight with the possible future ruler of his country. _~*~

"So that's what happened," finished Phloem.  "He's hated me ever since then, and occasionally he would come to my classes just to make trouble for me."

"Then let's get you out of here!" shouted an enthused Patamon.  "Getting you out will make Rime so _mad_," squealed the Digimon happily with a huge grin on his face.  A similar grin appeared on Brian's face.  The thought of being able to make Rime furious appealed to the prank-loving general.

"No kidding!" Otamamon said as Pixie also grinned.  "Just imagine what his face will look like!"  Both Otamamon and Patamon burst out laughing at what they thought it would be like.

"Thanks for volunteering to help, Pixie," Brian said to the princess with a grin.  "It'll be easier to get him out of here with the Princess of Sugar's help!"

Pixie turned red and glared at Brian.  "Stop it with the sugar jokes…"

"I guess I'll come too," volunteered Alan to take Pixie's attention off revenge for the teasing.

"The more the merrier," Brian said happily.

"Yes!  This will be so much fun!" cried Veemon as he struck a pose.  "This extraordinarily strong Veemon will help out, too!  I don't have an ounce of fat in my body!  It's all muscle."

Alan muttered, "Which explains a whole lot.  This is a classic case of all brawn and no brains."

"What?" asked Veemon.  "What do you mean by that?"  Alan kept silent, and Veemon wrapped himself around Alan's leg.  "Come on, tell me, tell me!"  Alan still refused to say anything.

"This is interesting, Magnus," Guilmon mentioned to his partner as they watched the Veemon try to figure out what his partner had said.  "Are we taking him to the River?"

"Yeah.  It'd be the safest way to get him out of here."

Out of all the people in the room, Phloem was the only one listening to Magnus and Guilmon.  "Are you talking about the River of Light?  I thought that no one could touch it directly and live."

Magnus shrugged.  "Maybe for some people, but I've never died from using it to travel."

By now, everyone else was also paying attention.  "It's not a real river, is it?" asked Alan curiously.

"Yes, and no.  If you wanted to, you _could_ get water from it, but the actual water is pretty far under all of the glowing stuff on the top.  It isn't a river of light, like the name suggests.  It's actually more like a river of digital data.  The data carries you along, and the river drops you off randomly in any spot along its banks, or even the banks of any rivulets that run into it."

"Wouldn't it be risky to go all the way to the River from here?" Brian wondered.

Magnus nodded.  "But we're not going to _the_ River.  A rivulet of it runs beneath the palace near the crypts for the nobility."

"C-crypts?  D-don't wild Bakemon l-live there?"  Alan's face became pale, and he pushed his glasses up nervously.

"Sometimes stronger Digimon," said Magnus with a casual shrug.  Alan gulped audibly.

******

Phloem wondered briefly how he ended up in a dark, creepy cavern full of various urns of different former nobility.  It was just creepy to think that the ashes of so many different people were in the same room as you.  And it didn't help that there would be the occasional evil laugh from an unseen Bakemon.  As another one rang throughout the hallways, Phloem shivered, and it was not from the slight chill that pervaded the great stone rooms.

He reflected that it was nice to be finally out of his stiff uniform.  He had borrowed some old clothes from Brian, and now he was in a comfortable, if loose, brown shirt and knee-length green pants.  His pristine white shoes were now replaced with more comfortable brown boots.  To top if off, he was wearing a green bandana around his neck that matched with the pants.

Eventually, Magnus led them to a path through the urns that brought them to an amazingly beautiful sight.  In a room that looked like it had never been developed by human hands lay the source of one of the rivulets of the River of Light.  From the ceiling hung a large crystal stalactite, and from the shining tip of it a stream of glowing digital data dropped into a pool that bubble with crystal clear water.  Where the water dropped out of the pool and into a stream through a series of tiny waterfalls, the data began to float on top of the water and gave the stream the glowing luminescence that the River was known for.

"It's beautiful," breathed an awed Pixie and Otamamon at the same time.

_//Did you expect something like _this_, Tapirmon?// _asked a stunned Phloem.__

_//No.  It's… amazing.//_

"This is where you go in," Magnus informed Phloem taciturnly.  Phloem nodded and stepped forward.  He and Tapirmon prepared to jump in the streamlet just below the final mini-fall.

That's when a cold voice stopped them just before they jumped.  "I don't think so.  Trying to escape, my _dear_ friends?"

Ten heads, both human and Digimon, turned to look at the source of the voice.  High Prince Rime and his Sorcerymon were standing in the doorway of the small cave.

The prince looked over their small group arrogantly.  Behind him stood five of the Imperial Guard, but these were unlike any Imperial Guard that Phloem had ever seen.  For one, their pristine white uniforms had a black edge around them.  And unlike any Imperial Guard or even common soldier that Phloem had ever run into, they had virus Champions for Digimon.  To be precise, each of them had a Bakemon.  The emotionless eyes of the Guards in front of them somehow matched the Digimon that they had.

Alan backed away from them nervously until he was at the edge of the data stream.  "D-does anyone know who t-those p-people are?" he stuttered nervously.  Veemon stood courageously in front of his partner, ready to protect him from anything.

"Graveyard Guardians," Magnus said shortly.  He was completely focused on the ten Guardians and Rime, and he looked almost happy that there was likely going to be a fight.

Even Brian, the eternal jokester, looked nervous at that bit of news.  "_These_ are the specially trained Guards?  Shoot!"  Seeing that the Guards were pulling out some guns, Brian said a bit hastily, "Not literally, of course.  So, Prince Rime, what's been happening lately?"  Brian was actually _grinning_ like this was one huge joke.

Rime smiled his frozen smile.  "One, Phloem has finally given me a good enough reason to kill him.  Two, he escapes somehow from one of the most high-tech cells we have.  Three, it turns out that one of my father's _generals_, my _fiancée_, and one of the most _rebellious_ nobles in the city are helping him.  Not to mention the general's most troublesome pet bodyguard."  Magnus simply rolled his eyes at the implied insult (somehow while still keeping his eyes on the guards) and drew his own gun.  He pointed it at Rime, but the Guardians already surrounded the prince, so he had no clear shot.

Then the Bakemon flowed forwards, and soon everyone was on the defensive.  Phloem and Magnus, however, stayed in front of everyone else.

The Digivice began to glow, and with it so did Tapirmon.  "Tapirmon Digivolve to… Apemon!"

Phloem looked behind him where everyone else was standing.  "You all get in the stream!" he told them sternly.  "Apemon and I can handle the Bakemon, and you need to get out of here."

"I'm staying," Magnus said as he calmly aimed at the Guardians.  "But _you_ should get out of here.  I doubt that you can be of much help."

As he said that, he shot one of the Guardians in the head.  The sight of that made Alan turn rather green, and to ensure his safety Veemon pushed him into the stream before jumping in himself.  Pixie and Otamamon shortly followed him, but Brian hesitated.

"Get out of here!" Magnus ordered his friend without turning around.  "I'm the bodyguard, not you."  A bullet, shot by a Guardian, ricocheted near Brian's feet and convinced him that his friend was right.  Soon it was only Guilmon, Magnus, Apemon, and Phloem against five Bakemon, one Sorcerymon, Rime, and currently only four soldiers.  Guilmon could not Digivolve because his other form would not fit in the small cave.

"METALLIC FUR!" Apemon shouted.  The spiky fur on his back and arms shot out and took out two of the Bakemon at once.  A blast from Magnus's gun also took out another of the Guardians.  The remaining three grouped even more closely around Rime.

The three remaining Bakemon disappeared and reappeared around Phloem and Magnus.  "Zombie Claw!" the three shouted spookily.  Guilmon deflected one Bakemon's hands with a Pyro Sphere, and the other two Bakemon were slapped away with Apemon's Mega Bone stick.  One of them was deleted.  Another soon followed from a mixture of a shot from Magnus's pistol and Guilmon's attack, and then the third was quickly deleted by Apemon's attack again.

"I won't help out against humans," Phloem informed Magnus.  "They can't be reconfigured."  Apemon skillfully deflected shots from the guns of the Guardians.

"Then get out of here, you stupid kid.  I can take care of the rest."

Phloem nodded, and both he and Apemon dropped back and stepped into the river.  Like everyone else had, they disappeared.

Before Magnus could fire another shot, however, Rime, guarded by his Sorcerymon from any bullets, rushed past Magnus and Guilmon and ran into the stream.  "I'll never forgive you!" was what Rime was shouting as he faded from view.

"That's one pissed prince," remarked Magnus as he calmly rolled behind a stalagmite for cover with Guilmon.  He smiled as the next three bullets of his gun each connected with a Guardian, and then calmly strolled with Guilmon into the data stream, where they, too, soon vanished.

******

Sho Konia sighed as he looked between the report of crime in the area and the person who was carrying it.  They were all on a grassy hill where Sho had been ordered to meet this certain person.  Sho was a member of the army of the Heaven's Delta area, near the mouth of the River of Light.  He was well known for his unique clothing – which he was technically _not_ supposed to wear, but did anyways – and his lone-wolf attitude.  With very dark blue, to the point of almost being black, hair and dark brown eyes, as well as his silver sleeveless shirt, black pants, and silver-and-black gauntlets on his arm, he was a memorable person.  To his side was his Snow Agumon.

What was troubling him was the fifteen-year-old Relaina Michet, who was two years younger than him but of a high enough rank to be his equal already, and the report she had brought him.  Her narrow, hazy blue eyes were observing him under the few bangs of bluish silver hair that had fallen across her eyes.  Her tanned and slender figure looked classy in her dark blouse, silver vest, and ice blue pants.  To her credit, she didn't look happy about either Sho or the report, either.  Her Gabumon was also at her side.

"So," said Sho, "we have to "take care of" a partnerless human?  Together?"

"I can do it on my own," Relaina stated flatly.  "We're trained to kill, so it's not a problem."

Sho's already-present frown deepened.  "Let's get this straight," he said just as emotionlessly.  "_You_ don't want to work with me.  _I_ don't want to work with you.  But we have to work together to catch and kill this partnerless thief."

"Kurai Happatai."

"What?"

"That's his name.  If you'd _read the report,_ you'd know that.  Which just proves that I can handle this _on my own_."

"I'm going to come anyways."

Her emotionless eyes stared into his.  "Your choice.  But I'm not going to wait up for you.  He was last seen by the River."

She turned and began to walk towards that shining landmark in the distance.  "You could have been a bit friendlier, you know," mentioned her Gabumon offhandedly as they power-walked down the hill.  The horned Digimon looked behind him and noticed that Sho and Snow Agumon were already following.

Relaina practically growled, "I _hate_ working with people.  And he's older than me, but not even a bit higher in rank than me.  Pathetic," she snapped as she commented on her co-worker.

Gabumon smiled.  "Perhaps not.  Maybe he just wasn't promoted because of his clothing choice," he said pointedly.  "After all, I seem to remember that happening to a certain person just yesterday, hmm?"  Relaina smiled very, very slightly at that memory.  Yesterday, her commanding officer had brought her aside and told her that he wanted to promote her, but he couldn't because she didn't follow certain regulations.  Because he had been around her for ten years, she was just open enough to tell him exactly what she thought of the army's uniform.  Judging by how red his face was afterwards, she might of added to his vocabulary.

"You're walking slow," Sho said as he easily power-walked past Relaina.  Because he was at least a foot taller than her, his legs were longer and he was able to cover more distance.  His Snow Agumon was jogging to keep up with him.

Relaina glared at his back as she was left behind.

******

Sunset along the River of Light was quite beautiful.  Many people on the eastern side would sit down with their Digimon every night and just watch it slowly dip across the horizon and paint both the sky and the river countless shades of stunning colors.  Already, some families were preparing to watch the event as the sun set.  But Kurai Happatai, the mysterious thief, had never indulged in such practices, mostly because he had no Digimon to watch it with.  People had always counted him strange because of that, and many had tried to kill him.

Some couples and families with a tradition of seeing the sunset everyday turned to stare at the black-clad individual who was running past them.  Kurai couldn't blame them.  He knew that he looked good in the baggy black shirt and his wide-legged black jeans.  He also wore a black cap that hid most of his black hair, a black and silver-studded belt, and black shoes embroidered with silver thread in the pattern of wings.  He would've stopped to chat with some of them, and possibly of picked their pockets while they chatted, but he couldn't even look at the sunset at this moment.

Now was especially not a good time for Kurai to watch the sunset because two guards, one with a Snow Agumon and the other with a Gabumon, were now chasing after him.  As he ran, he silently cursed the Empire, Digimon, the Emperor, and whoever thought that Digimon were a necessary part of life.  And on top of his already bad luck, he looked to the side and realized that one of the larger streams that joined onto the River was snaking in front of him.  Any form of escape was now blocked off, and he knew that he would probably face a very painful death at the hands of the guards.

His eyes lighted on the River, and he slowed to a stop.  After he threw a glance behind him and checked on the position of the guards, he again looked at the River.  _It's not a very comfortable way to travel, but whatever works…_  He slowly walked towards the River and gave a short hop in.

Behind him, Relaina and Sho watched with some surprise as the thief began to disappear.  But then Relaina, refusing to let an outcast to society get away from _her_, ran forward and tried to grab onto Kurai.  She fell through his vanishing body, and as soon as she hit the shining waters she also began to vanish.  Sho, who had tried to grab onto her and hold her back, just because she was assigned to work with him, ending up slipping on the thick grass along the banks and falling into the river.

As all three of the humans disappeared, the two partnered Digimon gave one look at each other and jumped into the River.  Like many partnered Digimon, they didn't care where they went as long as they stayed with their human.  The five beings vanished into the rushing river of data.

~**TBC**~

**Notes to People who Submitted Characters**

Tatsu-no-Houou – Okay!  I finally got your e-mail, so like I said in the reply, you might be appearing sometime later. 

Ichi-kun – Sorry, but I'm not accepting any more characters.  Your character sounds interesting, but I don't have room for more people.

Midnight Guardian – Um, I wasn't accepting any more characters, you know?  Sorry, but you're not in the fic.  Though I do think that your character would've been interesting to write, I just don't have room in the fic.

PrincessKitty-Chan – Heehee.  I _finally_ put in a character like you wanted me to.  But you know what?  Because I couldn't read your review about what you wanted your character to be like, I designed the character.  Hope you like _him_!

AND TO EVERYONE WHO HAS A CHARACTER IN THE FIC: You get to choose another thing!  What type of ability do you want?  You know, something like Phloem's empathy.  Everyone automatically gets the telepathy with his or her Digimon, but you can also get other stuff if you wanted.  Some choices are telekinesis (moving objects with your mind), telepathy with things beside Digimon, healing, and teleportation.  If you have another choice and it is in the same line of psychic stuff, I'll probably approve it.

**Author's Notes: **Er… Rime is annoying.  He's a good bad guy, but he keeps on asking to be made a good guy.  Here's Chibi Rime again, pleading like usual.

Chibi Rime: Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease! *gives puppy dog eyes*

Chibigreen: It's pretty annoying for the main bad guy to want to be good, especially when I imagined up a bad guy that was so handsome.  If I could draw him correctly, he would probably be added to the "cute guys of the anime world" list.  I _do_ need a bad guy.  And he makes a pretty darn good bad guy, that he does.

Chibi Rime: But I'd make a wonderfully handsome good guy, too! *gives puppy eyes again*

Chibigreen: Whatever… Rime's a narcissist. ^__^ And in case anyone is wondering, I'm going to be using both Japanese and English terms for all of this.  And how did Chibi Rime become my muse?  He is a _made up character_!  Well, my other muses are, too, but this one is straight from my imagination!  This just gives me another bit of strangeness in my fics.  See ya next chapter!

Oh, and if anyone wants me to let them know when I update this fic, leave your e-mail in a review!  People who are participating in this fic will be notified anyways. 


	6. Shadows and Light

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I do own Phloem because he's my original character, so that means I also own Rime. Pixie Sugienna belongs to yamatos.girl, while Brian O'Conner and Magnus Dean belong to Fallen Angel. AlanAlectai owns Alan Aramyr Gerai. ChibiSora and SteelKnight own their respective characters, Relaina Michet and Sho Kania.  PrincessKitty-Chan and I made Kurai Happatai a while ago.**

**Warnings: None!  Except for extreme silliness in the outtakes…  And maybe it gets _slightly angsty in the story._**

**Important Notes: This chapter was delayed because I was moving.  And in the meantime, I received some more character submissions.  The ones from Midnight Guardian and Ichi-kun I didn't accept because I didn't plan to add in new characters, and their characters were both too, ah, b***** to fit into the fic.  And then Zelinko submitted Duo Maxwell from Gundam Wing, which I am not using because this fic is for original characters and this is not a Digimon/GW crossover (though that would be interesting).  But then Takeru and Hikari (that's one person) submitted Vahn, and he's actually a homosexual character!  Wanting as I did to put shounen ai (guy-guy pairings) into this fic, I accepted the character.  But to those with male characters in the fic, don't worry.  Vahn will be paired up with a character that I made.**

Curse words are starred out, except for the first letter.

Italics are thoughts, except for the following cases:

_~*~Italics~*~_ marks flashbacks.

_--Italics--_ marks dream sequences.

_//Italics//_ marks telepathy.

_"Italics"_ mark disembodied voices

**Chapter 5:** Shadows and Light

Again Phloem was inside a limitless expanse of space.  This time, however, it was a dull white, and no voice spoke inside his mind.  But, like last time, the Digimental of Friendship was before him.  Tapirmon floated serenely at his side.

"Do you suppose we're dead?"  He didn't feel quite the same as he had during the dream.

Tapirmon shook his head.  _//We're not dead.  I think we are inside the River's data.  We have become data ourselves.// _

"I thought that only Digimon were data."

//Data and DNA are almost the same thing in this world.  Many humans and Digimon now have a data and DNA hybrid.//

"We have Digital DNA.  That should just show that humans and Digimon are equal even more, but some are scared of becoming similar to something not human."  But already Digimon think and sometimes even look just like humans.  "I think that we humans need to get rid of our prejudices and not just the unfairness of the systems we use to govern ourselves."

_//The inequalities begin in the prejudices.//_

Phloem smiled.  "That's right.  And that's what we need to change, together."

_//Together,//_ agreed Tapirmon.

Then other people began to appear out of the infinite void.  In a small circle, everyone who had jumped into the River began to appear, along with his or her Digimon and a Digimental.  To his right he saw Sho with a SnowAgumon and Reliability, Relaina with a Gabumon and Love, followed by Magnus and Guilmon with the Digimental of Courage.  Then came Brian and Patamon with Hope, Pixie and Otamamon with Light, Alan and Veemon with Knowledge, and Kurai with Sincerity, but no Digimon, before the circle went back to him.  And in the center of the circle was Rime and Sorcerymon with Kindness.

Before anyone could react to seeing the others, a booming voice somehow echoed around the void.  _"Chosen Children and Digimon.  You are the bearers of the seeds that can grow to save humanity.  Courage, Love, Reliability, Friendship, Sincerity, Knowledge, Hope, Light, and Kindness; it is your destiny to fight for the good of Digimon and human alike."_  The void acquired a bluish tint to it.

"Digimon should only fight for the good of humans!" protested the High Prince.

_"Human and Digimon are equals and have always been equals!" _replied another booming voice.  The tint of the space changed to red.

Another voice spoke, and the void became a shining white.  _"And you are an example of the problem.  Many humans, and even some Digimon, have forgotten that neither is higher than the other."_

"I can't fight!"  Everyone's attention was pulled to Kurai.  "I don't even have a Digimon to fight with!"

The void switched colors to green. _ "Every human has a partner, but some partners don't find each other right away.  You, Kurai, are an example of this.  But I have called your partner here so that he could finally find you."  _The voice paused.  _"He's late."_

"I'm here!  I'm here!" shouted a breathless voice.  A black-and-gray blur latched onto Kurai's chest.  "Sorry for being so late!  Sorry!  I had to find Phloem first, and then I was deleted and got reconfigured as a Rookie, and it's that stupid turtle's entire fault in the first place!  And his tiger friend, too!"  The hysterical, tired Digimon burst out crying.  It looked just like Patamon, but it was a very dark purple on the top and a grayish color on the bottom.  It also had yellow eyes.

Kurai glared at him and pushed him off.  "Get off me, you stupid Tsukaimon!  If you really were my partner, you would have found me years ago!"

Tsukaimon landed on the ground and sniffed, turning his head away from his partner.  "I am your partner, but if you don't care, fine.  I can get along fine without you."  A rift formed between the two partners, which they obviously were.  Even the disgusted expressions that they were giving to each other were almost identical.

Pixie giggled.  "What's so funny?" asked Otamamon.

"What's funny is that the Tsukaimon looks like a guy while the guy who he's partnered with looks like a girl," she explained with a smile.

The thief in question immediately glared at Pixie and demanded, "Are you saying that I'm a girl?"

Guilmon said, "Your voice is very high, and you do kind of smell like one…"

"I stole some rich lady's perfume earlier today.  And do you have a problem with my voice?"  He looked like he was appalled with the very idea of being a girl.

Brian made a soothing motion with his hands.  "Now, now, children," said the oldest member of the group, "let's not fight now.  I'm sure that the nice, disembodied voices have something else to say."  Magnus stared at his friend in disbelief.

"You're taking this pretty well," he remarked quietly.

The young general grinned.  "Of course.  It's fun."

_They're all morons.  They're all a bunch of idiotic morons to listen to this crap.  _Rime frowned at what was happening.  It sounded as if he was going to be losing control of what was obviously his birthright.  _I won't let this stop me!  I am going to be Emperor!  _"I am not going to help.  This will soon be my empire, and I will rule it as I see fit," he sneered at the world.  "Once my father dies, it won't matter what I do.  And this country will be better off we me than with that senile old fool."

A deadly silence pervaded the area.  The two guards and the thief, who had never seen the prince, were wondering just who the pale boy was.  Everyone else was trying to figure out what course of action that they should take.

"But I may want to get rid of you nuisances.  I can't have you spread my opinions, now can I?" Rime smiled a grim, cold smile.  He motioned with his hand towards Phloem, and then the area around him turned black.  "Sorcerymon, destroy them."  The wizard Digimon took his snowflake-capped staff and was about to attack when the data void turned a bright shade of pink.  It was centered strongly on Rime, and another voice spoke.

_"Poor child. You do not even realize that you are not in control because of the wounds of your heart that have still not healed."_  The pink light wrapped around the prince in a motherly embrace.  _"You are not controlling the darkness.  It has been planted inside of your heart so that its master could use you."_

The light slowly ate away at the darkness until the light's opposite was only a thin, dirty layer around the bearer of Kindness.  His eyes widened as the Digimental responded to the glow by sending out a piercing ray of light that broke through the last bit of darkness.  Around his right wrist formed a pale yellow Digivice just like the one Phloem had received.  And that is when the frost prince realized that some of the darkness had truly been his own; his hatred and his arrogance that he had used to protect himself from the world when his mother, who had been the only person to truly love him, had died.

And for the first time in many, many years, Rime began to cry.  Sorcerymon looked both relieved and sad with him, and the Digimon put a comforting hand on his human's shoulder.  It showed just how much Rime had altered in those few minutes in that he allowed both the sympathy and the touch.

The pink light dimmed and formed a small circle around Rime that ended at the Digimentals surrounding him.  Then the area from the edge of the circle to the end of the void around the Digimentals of Hope and Light turned blue.  To the south, the section with Courage and Love glowed a brilliant red, and the western portion with Friendship and Reliability became a shining white.  The northern part with Knowledge and Sincerity gave off a green light, and the effect made the void look like a flower with four petals that spread infinitely in all directions.

_"Do you now accept the power that we now offer you?"_ asked the five voices in unison. _ "Speak your name to complete the agreement."_

To some people's surprise, Kurai was the first one to speak.  "I'll agree to this because no one should be called an outlaw just because they are alone in the world.  My name is Kurai Happatai."

Pixie nodded and spoke her reason.  "In this world, people and Digimon are forced into rank unfairly.  My name is Pixie Sugienna, and I accept."  Her face had a stubborn set that said she would fight forever if she had to.

"The ruling class is mostly corrupt, and that needs to change.  I am Magnus Dean."  A burning light came into the eyes of the usually reserved fighter.

"Digimon are treated like stupid animals, and that's not right.  My name is Phloem."

A shadow seemed to come into Relaina's eyes.  _Nikki, this is for you._  "My name is Relaina Michet."

"Maybe some changes will make this world happier.  I'm Brian O'Conner."  His grin was only slightly dampened by the situation's seriousness.

"I am Sho Kania."  He looked like he didn't really care too much to join in.  _I guess that this is the right thing to do…_

Alan was the next to agree.  "It's only right to help.  I a-am Alan Gerai," he said in his somewhat nervous manner.  He knew that if new Digidestined were being chosen, then there was more at stake then it seemed.  _The original Digidestined had to save the world several times.  Will we be able to?_

Rime hadn't stopped crying yet, but it still was completely silent.  "I will fight to get rid of the weakness that darkness can bring to this country," he said through his tears, "My name is Rime."  For once, he did not say his rank like it was as much rightfully his as his name itself.

The Digimentals began to glow.  All of them, except for Friendship and Kindness, sent out a beam of light that turned into a Digivice and wrapped around the humans' wrists.  To Phloem the movement seemed gentle, like a vine wrapping slowly around a support.  The glow from Kindness and Friendship powered up the Digivices and activated them.  Slowly the glowing stopped, and then the Digimentals faded with their brightness.

So did the data world around the Chosen.

~**TBC**~

**Akugi (this is the Fushigi Yuugi way of saying outtakes)**

Phloem: Do you suppose we're dead?

Tapirmon: *shakes his head* _ //I think that we're just-//_

Rime:  In hell!  *the void changes to look like it is full of high flames, Meramon, and evil dark Digimon (Beelzemon, Phelesmon, Mephismon, Devimon, and so forth)*  MWAHAHAHAHA!

Entire cast & Chibigreen: RIME!!!  *Alan is hiding behind Veemon as a Devimon walks up to him… and then _through him.*_

Chibigreen: That's it!  No more playing with the holographic projector's remote control after eating white chocolate for you!

Rime: I don't listen to Digimon.

Chibigreen: *bonks Rime over the head with her staff*  I only dress like one and have a name that ends in "mon," baka!  _[Baka=Idiot/Stupid]_

Rime: *has a bandage around his head* Darn. *kicks over the Digimental of Kindness*

Notes to People who Submitted Characters 

Takeru and Hikari – Thank you for submitting a great character.  Your story is very nice, too.

Tatsu-No-Houou – You need to select powers for your characters.  See the previous chapter for more details.

**Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone for giving me so many reviews!  I can't believe that I have 28!!!  A big thanks to Takeru and Hikari for putting me on a Favorite Authors list.  Yay!**

I'm sorry that this chapter is a bit short, but I felt that this would be a good time to stop the chapter.  I don't know when the next one will be up because this is being typed up on my parents' computer.  I'm glad that this is a PG fic because of that fact.  I can't wait until I can get back to my own computer.

Darn it, Rime turned good.  I suppose he's my muse now…

Chibi Rime: Yep, I am.

Chibigreen:  …so he's probably my main character now.

Chibi Phloem:  Aren't I the main character?

Chibi Rime:  No, I am.  Nyah!  *makes a face at Phloem*

Chibi Phloem:  I'm so sad now!  *does anime-style crying*

**I am accepting no more characters!  None!  So don't submit one!  Thank you for your time.**

**Please click on the itsy bitsy button that says REVIEW!**


	7. Secrets of the Past and Present

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I do own Phloem and Rime. Pixie Sugienna belongs to yamatos.girl, while Brian O'Conner and Magnus Dean belong to Fallen Angel. AlanAlectai owns Alan Aramyr Gerai. ChibiSora and SteelKnight own their respective characters, Relaina Michet and Sho Kania.  PrincessKitty-Chan and I made Kurai Happatai a while ago.  Tatsu Aquarius and Sakura Hikari belong to Tatsu-no-Houou.**

**Warnings: A small amount of violence and random silliness, especially in the akugi.**

**Note: This version of the chapter has edited out all shounen ai/yaoi because the author didn't like it.  The original version was uploaded 7/25/02, and this version was uploaded on 7/26/02.**

Curse words are starred out, except for the first letter.

_Italics_ are thoughts, except for the following cases:

_~*~Italics~*~_ marks flashbacks.

_--Italics--_ marks dream sequences.

_//Italics//_ marks telepathy.

_"Italics"_ mark disembodied voices

**Chapter 6:** Secrets of the Past and Present 

A splitting headache as Magnus woke up reminded him of why he only took the River as the last choice of transportation.  He wasn't fully conscious yet and his eyes wouldn't follow his directions and open, but he could hear everything perfectly clear.  He could tell that he was laying on something softer than just ground, and he could hear at four separate things moving around.  _Two people and two Digimon, he reasoned.  __They must of found us and decided to take care of us.  Then he heard a fifth and sixth thing move, and both neighed._

He shot awake and backed away from the horses that were too close to him for his state of mind.  One was almost _standing on him.  It was a cream-colored horse with a star marking on its forehead.  On its back was a Salamon.  "What are you scared of?" she wondered._

"I…don't…like…horses," he said with clenched teeth.  "And you know that, too."

"Just because I'm a dog doesn't mean you have to _growl at me," muttered the Digimon.  "If it makes you feel any better, your Digimon is right behind you, but he's still sleeping.  You're the first one up."_

Phloem's Tapirmon, who was floating a few feet away near where his partner was sleeping, made a rude noise that really offended the Rookie Digimon.

"Hmph.  Okay, you're the second, according to that fur brain over there."  The little Digimon observed him closely.  "If this keeps on happening to you," she said, meaning the unconsciousness, "why don't you stop using the River, Magnus?"

He was still nervous because of the horses.  "I didn't really have a choice.  Can you get those horses away from me?"

A fifteen-year-old girl with long blonde hair, blue eyes, and wearing a pair of black ninja slacks and a cream-colored tank top with only one strap came over to the horses.  "Hello again, Magnus.  You brought a large party with you this time."

The girl was Sakura Hikari, who had made herself an outcast to this system by becoming a wanderer.  She was very skilled with the katana that was strapped onto her back.  She traveled with her love interest, Tatsu Aquarius, her Salamon, and his Monodramon.  They also had two horses: Hoshi (the cream-colored one) and Kage (the completely black one).  Sakura and Tatsu had had many run-ins with Magnus before he was assigned to guard Brian.

"We haven't seen you lately.  Did you finally realize that taking the River hurts?"

"I've known that for awhile.  I'm now someone's bodyguard, so I didn't need to travel with the River."

"Ah."  She nodded understandingly.  "You must be friends with the person if you've been their bodyguard for so long.  It's been about four years, hasn't it?  I wouldn't of recognized you if it weren't for Guilmon.  He's a very uncommon Digimon."

After a few moments of silence, Magnus noticed that a golden Digivice was wrapped around her wrist.  "You have one, too," he said as he held up the wrist with the crimson Digivice hooked around it.

"Yes."

"Do you know why we were given them?"

A nod of the head signaled an affirmative.  "We'll discuss it after sunset.  The other Digidestined should be awake by then."  She turned to go and carefully led the horses farther away from Magnus.  He breathed a sigh of relief.

*********

_Later that day…_

The eleven Chosen Children sat on logs around a crackling campfire.  They were eating a thick stew of wild herbs, fish, and plants that grew in the area.  Everyone had contributed something to it; Rime had even found some wild mushrooms to add to it.  Apparently, he had taken some survival courses with the Imperial Guards as well as fighting lessons.  Kurai had disappeared for a while, too, but just before the stew had finished cooking he came back with a sack full of silverware and dishes.  No one asked him where he had gotten the items.

While they ate, the thief carefully observed all of his companions under the guise of playing around with his black Digivice.  _At least it matches my outfit.  He hadn't met people that treated him like an equal __ever, and to be sitting and eating with at least seven Digimon and seven humans who couldn't care less whether he had a Digimon was coming as a shock.  He couldn't tell how Sho felt about him being there, and Rime was also a mystery – though he hated Rime with all of his heart.  __It's because of people like him that I had to lead the life I did!  However, he __knew that Relaina hated him – but he had a feeling that she hated most of the world, so he was fine with that_

His temper was aggravated by the way that everyone just accepted him with no questions asked, but he was also grateful.  He had a couple of – secrets – that he didn't want anyone to find out about.  Ever.  He wanted to just stay Kurai Happatai, the mysterious thief.  But in a group, the secrets might be spilled, one way or another.  His secrets were only safe if he was cautious in his dealings with others, including his Digimon.

The thing that irritated Kurai the most was his Digimon, Tsukaimon.  He got along so well with the Digimon, and they had hardly even met.  The problem for him was that he didn't _want to be friends with Tsukaimon, and he still couldn't forgive the Digimon for not finding him sooner.  __Maybe my life would have been that much easier.  But it doesn't matter.  He had always faired well enough on his own, and Tsukaimon and the Digivice told him that there would soon be new beginnings and endings for him.  When he felt Relaina glaring at him over her food from the opposite side of the fire, he glared right back.  Eventually she looked away._

Relaina herself was feeling uncomfortable with the world around her, especially because of the purple Digivice around her wrist.  She had been told by powerful-sounding voices that the world she had been forced into was wrong.  She knew that, but it made so many parts of her life so pointless.

Many people could not remember much from when they were little, but Relaina remembered perfectly from the time she met her first friend, Nina.  Nina had been such a kind person, and she hadn't had a Digimon, either.  Both of them got along well, and Relaina started being friendly to others.  When she was four, she had found Gabumon wounded, cared for him until he was healed, and had ended up partnering with him, but Nina never found a partner.  When Nina was five and they had taken her away, Relaina had followed and seen the soldiers kill her friend.  Then Relaina had been chosen for the army, and she threw herself into her training so that she could forget.

Her hatred of the world had then provided safety from the rest of the world, and she did her best to ignore the strong feelings she had about justice and bigotry.  She had done what she was told to do and nothing else.  But now she realized that was wrong, and she felt lost and confused.  To protect herself, she made her shield of hatred apparently grow stronger.  She stared into the fire with mixed sorrow and hatred for the world she had grown up in showing.  Gabumon put a paw sympathetically on her clenched fists, and she had to crack a small smile at her only friend in the world.

Guilmon pointed out the smile to Magnus, who was surprised that Relaina could even smile.  The smile looked like a crack in a mask, and seeing the emotions in her eyes, he guessed that perhaps there was more to Relaina than hatred.  Before he saw that, he hadn't been sure if he could trust Relaina.  Now he knew that he could.  He understood the type of sorrow she felt about the world around her.

The world did not treat Virus Digimon nicely, and they reacted to partners of Virus Digimon even more unkindly.  His parents had been palace servants, and he had found out too late that a drunken Lady Fala was completely different from a sober one.  Rime's mother had been on a Unimon, he remembered, when he had accidentally gotten in her way.  She had made the Unimon try to crush him with his hooves, and his parents had quickly pushed him out of the way.  Lady Fala had Unimon kill them with an attack, but Guilmon had protected him from Unimon's attack.  Then he had been taken into the army to train as a bodyguard.

He had been assigned to Brian three or four years ago when he was around fourteen and Brian was around sixteen.  After protecting his charge from an assassin's bullet that had been aimed to take out General O'Conner's son, he had fainted from blood loss.  Only later had he discovered that General O'Conner had been killed and that his son had inherited the position.  His mother had died of heartbreak soon after the father had died.  Brian had also paid for Magnus to be well taken care of so that he could recover.  Ever since then, he had been serving Brian as a bodyguard on his own free will to try to pay back Brian saving his life when he did not have to.  Before, it had been an assignment, then a personal duty, and now it was out of friendship.

Friendship, Magnus decided, was a needed emotion in the world, and it could even inspire courage in cowards if the coward cared for the friend enough.  And friendships were prevented as much as possible in the current society, yet Phloem had received that Crest.  _Perhaps this time around, Courage is not the Crest of the leader because it is not the most needed.  What is needed was Friendship._

Brian was also reflecting on his white Digivice and its importance.  He loved to be laid back in life, but he was serious.  Magnus, Patamon, and Guilmon were probably some of the only people that realized that about him.  He _was a good general, and he knew that, even if people looked down on him for being a prankster and inheriting the position.  The inheriting had only been allowed because the emperor had been a friend to his father, but the system was not supposed to work like that.  It was unfair, he knew, but with his Digivice and the Crest of Hope, he wished to give the people of his country a vision of the end of that type of injustice.  He knew that his parents would have been proud of him.  He glanced at Pixie, and part of him wondered how __she thought about him._

She caught the glance and winked cheekily back at him.  He was always cheering everyone up with his endless pranks, and today, when everyone was so serious, she thought that he could use some cheering up himself.  They smiled at each other before going back to eating their dinner.

After being talked to by the kind, but firm, voices, even Otamamon was unusually quiet.  Idle chatter would have helped to distract them from the feeling of responsibility that was being held over everyone, but no one really wanted to talk.  Everyone was deep in thought over what they could do to help the change go through, but Pixie thought that Rime was the key to all of this.  With he current emperor slowly wasting away, Rime was the one with the most power.  Even she didn't have as much political sway as he did – and frankly, she didn't want it.  She was sure that many people did not want what positions they had, and it was her duty to make the lives of the people of her country better.  Her pink Digivice was a symbol of the new power she had to do the right thing.

She glanced at Brian again, and she made a mental note to ask Rime to cancel the engagement.  If she fell in love, she didn't want to cheat on him (even if she hated him) behind his back.  He still held quite a bit of power, and it would not be a good thing to antagonize him.

Sho saw the way the princess was looking at the general and the way the general was looking back at the princess.  Just because he didn't like being around people and had only casual relationships in his lifetime didn't mean that he didn't recognize what he saw.  He had a feeling that the age gap in the two political figures' relationship would cause a scandal among the nobles, but that didn't really matter.

What did matter to him was that his ice blue Digivice would certainly help him do what he saw as his duty: to protect common people like him from any danger, whether it was human or Digimon.  He was slightly worried about what others would do, but he had the feeling that they were a good bunch, even Relaina.  _Though she does act like she's permanently going through PMS…  He was curious about what the Digivice was, as well as what it did.  He finished his stew and set it on the ground._

"I heard that you two know who gave these things to us…?" he questioned Tatsu and Sakura.

Tatsu was almost six feet tall and an athletic-looking fifteen-year-old.  Like Sakura, he wore black slacks and had a golden Digivice.  He was also wearing a dark, mottled cloak and a deep blue shirt, open in the front with a Chinese dragon design on it.  He had rugged black hair that was tied into a straight ponytail, and his eyes were emerald green.  But though his eyes were hidden behind a blindfold, he seemed able to see perfectly.  He was sitting the farthest away from the fire to the point where he was almost unnoticed.

He nodded in reply to Sho's question.  "The guardians," he answered shortly.

Sakura elaborated, "The Digivices were given to us by the guardian Digimon of the Digital World.  There are seven of them in all.  In the North is Ebonwumon, the two-headed turtle.  In the South is Zhuqiaomon, the phoenix.  Baihumon, the white tiger, guards the West while the blue dragon, Quinlongmon or Azulongmon, guards the East.

"Then there are three holy Digimon who watch over everything: a pink, rabbit-like Digimon known as Kerpymon or Cherubimon, the female angel Orphanimon, and the male angel Seraphimon.  The three holies each have a single Crest under them, but the guardians each have two Crests.  The Crests are Courage, Love, Reliability, Friendship, Sincerity, Knowledge, Hope, Light, Kindness, Miracles, and Destiny."

Rime spoke for the first time since he had received the Digivice.  "It's not just a Digivice; it also contains the power of the Crest in a CD," he explained.  He pushed a button on it, and the top opened to reveal that his did contain a purplish CD with the Crest of Kindness inscribed on it.

"A Digital CD…" murmured Alan.  CDs were rare in the current times because the technology used to make them was no longer so perfected.  It had become harder to make some objects that had been everyday conveniences before the Realization, but other technologies, such as holographic screens, had become common.  Most of the world still looked oddly outdated when compared to some of the technology available.  At least missiles and nuclear warheads had become impossible to manufacture.  But then again, no one had tried to regain those deadly technologies.

"It actually feels like a seed.  Like it could _grow into something," said Brian out of the blue.  He earned many confusing stares._

"It does want to grow," agreed Phloem as he examined his.  "It has emotions like it is alive, but mine only feels friendly with a need to be planted.  It's a Digital Seed… a D-Seed."  From that point on, everyone thought of them as D-Seeds.  The name had stuck.

Kurai rolled his eyes.  "What?  Are these _Crests just symbols of living parts of our world or something?"_

"I think that they are," said Brian, and then he wondered how he knew that.  He earned more stares, but Sakura and Tatsu seemed amused by their confusion.

"Most humans have special abilities, but most do not realize it.  Brian seems to have empathy, or the ability to sense emotions."

Phloem silently queried Tapirmon.  _//Do I have something?//_

_//You know that you have telepathy, but it's only with me.  You have empathy.  What Brian has is something slightly different.  He senses data in a way that lets him predict what something – whether living or not – is going to do or wants to do in the near future.//_

"He doesn't have empathy," he told them aloud.  "Tapirmon said that Brian can predict what something plans or wants to do."  Sakura and Tatsu gave him a piercing look.  "I am telepathic with Tapirmon, but I am an empath.  What can you do, Miss Sakura?"

With a smile, she was suddenly a Renamon.  Then she was back to Sakura, but with cat ears and a tail.  Another transformation, and she was a peacock, and then a Floramon, before she went back to her regular human self.

"I can change my DDNA to whatever living thing that I want," she explained unnecessarily.  "I'm a shape-shifter.  But I can't use Digimon attacks, even if I can transform into a Digimon, and I can only double my strength in any transformation.  Tatsu has a power, too.  He can control any element, like earth, air, water, or fire, and he knows where everything is, even with his blindfold on."  The conversation dropped off after that as the Digidestined thought about what these powers might mean if they had one.

_I'm glad she didn't mention that __thing, Tatsu thought gratefully.  __Only she and our Digimon know about it.  _

All of the Digimon, except for the two Tapirmon, had left to chat with each other and to see if the other humans in the group were trustworthy enough for their partners to be safe around.  Both Tapirmon were also in the conversation telepathically.  As he thought that, his usually shy Monodramon laughed at something Brian's Patamon had said to Alan's Veemon.

_It's different with all of these people around.  It makes me feel constricted, but maybe I can be friends with them.  Sakura and I have wandered for so long.  Maybe it is time for me to accept what I am and stop wandering._  He looked at Sakura with worry hidden behind the white bandages that covered his eyes.  _I love her so much, and she's always been so kind to me, even if she knows what I am.  Sakura turned to smile at him as he thought, __She's always been so kind, even though I've never told her the whole truth, and she knows it…_

Sakura knew she could guess what Tatsu was thinking.  _He's so stuck on his past, but he has a reason to be.  He's never even told me all of it, but I can guess.  I think that I know the reason he keeps his eyes and his left hand wrapped in bandages.  Monodramon has a scar on his __left hand.  Sakura was very much in love with Tatsu, but neither told each other how they felt.  __If we change how this world is, maybe he will finally come out of his shell.  Maybe people will finally accept him.  Her eyes flicked across the people around the campfire.  Alan was playing with a palm pilot._

Alan realized that he was probably one of the least noticed members of the group, but he had always been that.  People saw how his Veemon acted and assumed that he was the same because he tried to be friends with everyone.  But in this partnership, Veemon was the brawn and Alan was the brain.  He also carried a palm pilot that let him access the Empire's News Network, or the ENN.  He made sure to keep himself up-to-date on everything because he used his knowledge to help oppressed people.

With the help of other nobles like Brian, Alan had significantly decreased the death rate from starvation and disease in Sanctus by distributing needed medical supplies and food to the poorest members of the cities.  Everyone had a job, of course, because everyone was assigned a job by the government.   But some jobs the government assigned did not pay well, and some of the illegal establishments that Alan had sabotaged carefully and only with the help of Brian and Magnus had held evidence that they were supported by some of the higher officials.  And that was one thing that definitely had to change, and he had a feeling that somehow the silver D-Seed would help.

Then as he came up to one report in particular, he quickly enlarged the holo-screen so that everyone could see it.  "You might want to see this," he warned everyone.  Then he played the news report he had downloaded from the ENN.

Two of the highest nobles, Lord and Lady Haven, were on the screen with their identical Piximon.  They were all dressed in traditional mourning garb, and the staffs of the Piximon were wrapped in black.  A news reporter spoke in the background.

"This afternoon, Emperor Starfrost died of heartbreak after hearing that his son, High Prince Rime, had been kidnapped by the fugitive ex-Imperial Guardsman, Phloem Greenhill.  Lord and Lady Haven are filling in until he reappears.

"According to sources, Greenhill had been imprisoned for treasonous actions beforehand.  Detectives say that Greenhill had displayed violent tendencies towards Rime before."  Phloem snorted at that, even through his shock of at hearing of the Emperor's death.  Rime had always been the one to attack _him.  A picture of Phloem appeared on the holo.  "If you see Greenhill, please contact the Guard in your area immediately."  Alan then turned off the report._

Everyone around the fire was in shock.  None of them had ever thought that the emperor would just die so suddenly.  And now Rime was officially the emperor.  But Phloem was not shocked at that, but at something else.

_My name is Phloem _Greenhill_.   They never told me my full name, and they said I never needed to know it.  I never remembered it because they told me I was repressing memories from before my fifth birthday.  Now I can find my family.  I remember that I loved them very much, and I was happy.  I could meet my family.  This is great!  I'm a wanted criminal, but I don't care.  I can find my family!_  But in his happiness, he was hit by a wave of remorse that was not his own.

Eyes wide, he turned to look at Rime.  Rime was silently sobbing, and as Phloem watched, he got up and left.  "He's feeling sorry for himself, the jerk," Phloem announced to no one in particular.  "He's blaming himself, though that only makes it obvious how much he's changed.  He used to beat up on me when he was very mad at anything."  Phloem got up with a lopsided grin and followed Rime's trail.

"What are you going to do?" Kurai asked him curiously.  Even Sakura was curious (as it was made obvious by neko-girl ears and tail twitching).

"Annoy him," he replied as he walked out of the clearing.

No one knew what to make of it, but Brian had another prediction.  "We might need bandages when they get back, but hopefully there won't be anything broken."

There were a few wide-eyed blinks from various people.  "It'll be that bad?" asked Alan.

"I think so."

That's when Kurai stood up.  "This I _have to see," he announced, and then he disappeared into thin air._

********

Rime sat down sullenly on a large rock by one of the few streams in this area that did not have data covering it.  It was very picturesque; there was even an unusually large willow tree that cast the area into shadow as the moon rose behind it.  However, Rime was not in the mood to enjoy the beautiful scenery.  His father had just died, and he knew that it was his fault.  The newscaster had even said it.  _"…Died of heartbreak after hearing that his son…had been kidnapped…"_  He should've got a black D-Seed instead of a yellow one.  It fit the amount of guilt he carried around.

"I'm a horrible person," Rime whispering to himself harshly.  "I'm a cruel, manipulative, horrible person who has been taking advantage of his position and his family ever since…" he trailed off, remembering since when.

"Ever since your mother died and the darkness took that chance to take over you," Phloem interjected as he walked into the clearing with feline grace.  Not one footfall made any sound.

"Shut up!  You're the one who killed her!"

"No, I didn't, but I won't blame it on Tapirmon either.  It was self-defense."

His opponent in this verbal match replied with a short, sarcastic laugh before saying, "Did you notice that all change seems to happen because _you're there?  Whether it's good or bad, you always seem to cause something to happen."_

"I must be cursed," the younger man shot back.  It threw Rime off balance.

"What?"

"I must be cursed," he repeated.  "Haven't you heard of the ill wish that goes, 'May you have an interesting life,' or something like that?"  Rime just glared, and Phloem breathed deeply while trying to think of something that would get him mad.  "Or did you just sit in your rooms and mope all day, Your Royal Highness?"  Now Phloem's empathy was kicking in with a bang.  He could practically _feel the anger rolling off of Rime.  "Oh, are you getting angry?  But aren't you just too mad at yourself because your dad died while you weren't there?"_

"Don't you dare talk about my father!"

"And why not?  He would've died if you were there or not!  Everybody knows that he hated your guts, and he only did something you wanted if he was feeling particularly insane!"  Phloem waited as the first punch landed, and then he fought back against the tall prince.

He thought he got in a good punch on the arm, but then Rime backhanded him across the face hard enough for him to taste blood.  By this time they had knocked each other to the ground, and for the first time since Rime had become his rival, Rime was winning.  As they continued to fight, Phloem's collection of scrapes and bruises became larger.  At least one rock in the ground had somehow gotten in the path of Phloem's head and was leaving him dazed after each hit.

The fight ended with Phloem on the ground with his arms being held painfully behind his back.  A knee was pressed agonizingly into his spine, but the fight had done its work and gotten Rime out of his depression.  Phloem dearly hoped that all his forming bruises were worth it.

"You won," he said into the dirt.  Exhausted, Rime fell back and dropped to the ground.

"I won," said Rime with disbelief.  Phloem sat up and saw that Rime wasn't that much better off then himself.  One of his eyes was already purpling, and an arm was dangling uselessly.  "I can't believe I won."  Then he glanced at Phloem.  "You were right, you know it, and that's why you let me win," he said accusingly.

"No, that's why I started the fight," Phloem replied cheerfully.  He felt much more like himself now that the prince wasn't depressed.  _It must be a side effect of having empathy.  "Aren't you glad that I'm so self-sacrificing?"****_

He didn't have time to answer because surprised shouts were coming from the camp area.  Both of them sat up in alarm and tried to figure out what was going on.

_//Phloem!  A Digimon is attacking!//  Phloem's eyes widened and he began a full-out run for the camp.  Rime was left alone and clueless about what was happening._

Kurai, who had been watching the scene from a treetop, had also seen blasts coming from the area near the campfire.  He teleported once and landed near Rime and held out a hand to help the prince up.  "I hate your guts," he informed the prince, "but I'm the quickest way for you to get back to the rest of the group.  Something is attacking."  Rime took the offered hand and stood up, and then Kurai teleported both of them back to the camp.

Tatsu was futilely trying to use mini-tornados and fireballs, controlled by his power, to hit a MetalMamemon.  The other Digimon, which were all at Champion level except for the two Tapirmon and Tsukaimon, could not even touch it.  Pixie's Veedramon's V-Nova Blast never got quite close enough, Growlmon could not reach it with his attacks, and even Brian's Angemon could not affect it.

The other Digimon were also trying their hardest.  Sho's IceDevimon had not yet been able to reach it, and Alan's ExVeemon, Sakura's Gatomon, and Relaina's Garurumon were all having the same trouble.  The Ultimate Digimon was just too fast for all of the Champions combined.

When Phloem reached the clearing, his D-Seed began to glow and Tapirmon easily Digivolved to Apemon.  Rime's Tapirmon followed suit, and soon Sorcerymon's ice and water attacks were joining the futile efforts of the other Digimon.  But because of Kurai's stubbornness and refusal to help, Tsukaimon had to Digivolve on his own.  BlackGatomon joined the fray, but more of MetalMamemon's attacks were hitting then of all of the Digimon, so they were started to get badly worn out.  One more Energetic Bomb from MetalMamemon would finish them off.

"It takes a lot of energy to Digivolve to Ultimate," Magnus said worriedly to Brian from where they watched the battle.  "We might lose."  Relaina also overheard the comment, but she had a hard time believing that they would lose then.  If the MetalMamemon would just stay still, she was sure that the eleven Champions could defeat him.

She thought back to the abilities she had seen so far: Kurai's teleportation, telepathy and empathy from Phloem, prediction from Brian, shape-shifting and elemental manipulation from Sakura and Tatsu respectively.  Maybe there was telekinesis, as well.  She looked up at MetalMamemon, and then she told it silently to stop.  A part of her that she hadn't known existed reached out and grabbed the DDNA that formed the Digimon, and it froze in place.

All at once, eleven different attacks from eleven different Champions converged on their target, and the MetalMamemon disappeared  in a burst of data.  The telekinesis had also drained Relaina's energy, so she was pale and trembling with exhaustion.  "We won," she announced simply.  Garurumon appeared at her side, and he supported her so that she could walk off to her bed.

"That was strange," Brian said.

Tatsu nodded.  "Yes.  I wonder what caused it to attack us."

"A piece of advice," said Kurai sheepishly as everyone turned to look at her.  "Some nobles get grumpy when you steal from them, and they may send Digimon after you."  She looked up at the fading cloud of data where MetalMamemon had been.  "Very large, very powerful Digimon."

BlackGatomon smacked Kurai in the back of the head, which caused her partner to wince in pain.  "We could've been killed because of a bunch of silverware!"

"So what?  I have good table manners!"

The two began bickering and became oblivious to the rest of the world.  Exasperated looks were shared throughout the Digidestined, and so was one thought.

"Why didn't he take his own advice?" asked Veemon who had been ExVeemon.

And that was one most intelligent questions Veemon had ever uttered in his life.

~**TBC**~

**Akugi**

BlackGatomon: We could've been killed because of a bunch of silverware!

Kurai: What?!  You're a girl now?!

BlackGatomon: What wrong with that?

Kurai: Couldn't you just cross dress or something?  Having a female Digimon will make me look bad.  Guys usually don't have girly Digimon.

BlackGatomon: *extends her claws* I could fix that problem.  It doesn't matter if you have a girl Digimon if you don't have guy parts, right?

Kurai: *blinks* Ah!  Get this sick cat away from me!  *runs away screaming*  I don't need to be neutered!  AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!

Chibigreen: *whacks BlackGatomon with a hammer*  Bad kitty!  I don't want PrincessKitty-Chan to kill me because of an _akugi!_

Rime:  Heheheh.  Dead Chibigreen… That sounds appealing.

Kurai: *sneaks up on Phloem with his own mallet and knocks him with it*  Yes!  *watches as Rime flies through the air from the strength of the hit*  Unconscious Rime… That sounds appealing.

Rime: *holding sign that says "I'm not dead yet! (And Chibigreen doesn't own Monty Python and the Holy Grail!)"*

Phloem:  Yes he is!  *uses a black marker to make Rime's eyes X's*

Magnus: *walking with Guilmon, who is pulling a wooden cart* Okay, I'll take him.  *loads Rime into the cart and clangs a gong*  Bring out your dead!

**Chibigreen's Notes: WAI!!!! ^___^ I'm so happy!!! ^___^ Why?  Because people yelled at me in e-mails for not updating one of my Fushigi Yuugi stories (the next chapter was on another computer, so I _couldn't_ update). ^___^ Why does that make me happy?  Because I thought that my story was a Mary Sue, but people _liked it enough to yell at me!!!  SUGOI!!!  ^___^ I'm in such a good mood today!!!_**

This announcement is a bit early because I am not close to finishing this story yet, but once I do finish (whenever that is) I already have three more Digimon stories planned.  One is a crossover with Suikoden (the RPG for PlayStation), the other is a crossover with Fushigi Yuugi (the great and wonderful anime), and the third is my version of what happened when Tamers ended.  But the most I'm writing are three stories at a time, so I'd have to finish my FY stories or this Digimon story before I start writing the other three.

I am not accepting any more characters!  So **don't submit a character, please!  Thank you for your time.**

Doesn't that blue button down below this look so pretty that you want to** REVIEW?  PLEASE?**


	8. Sting of Corruption

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I do own Phloem and Rime. Pixie Sugienna belongs to yamatos.girl, while Brian O'Conner and Magnus Dean belong to Fallen Angel. AlanAlectai owns Alan Aramyr Gerai. ChibiSora and SteelKnight own their respective characters, Relaina Michet and Sho Kania.  PrincessKitty-Chan and I made Kurai Happatai a while ago.  Tatsu Aquarius and Sakura Hikari belong to Tatsu-no-Houou.  Takeru and Hikari owns Vahn til' Galendros.**

**Warnings: Violence, I guess…**

**Note: In case you didn't notice, Chapter 6 was edited to cut out the yaoi between Rime and Phloem.  Don't worry; there will be plenty more shounen ai action!  I just didn't like it there (and it was my first time writing shounen ai _or yaoi)._**

And for the Digimon that appear in this chapter, I mostly got my information from Sora's Digimon Palace Digidex at: http://boesv061.speed.planet.nl/  It's a pretty good website.

Curse words are starred out, except for the first letter.

_Italics_ are thoughts, except for the following cases:

_~*~Italics~*~_ marks flashbacks.

_--Italics--_ marks dream sequences.

_//Italics//_ marks telepathy.

_"Italics"_ mark disembodied voices

**Chapter 7:** Sting of Corruption

"OW!" yelped Phloem as Sakura cleaned out the various wounds he had gotten in the fight with Rime.  It was the morning after the fight with the Ultimate Digimon, and Sakura was in the neko-girl form right now.

She smacked him lightly on the head, and he winced in pain.  "Sit still, you big baby.  Aren't you supposed to be a soldier?" she said as she bandaged an arms that was covered in gashes.  "How did you manage to get _this injured in the fight with Rime in the first place?"_

"Um…" he thought about how the pain seemed to get worse when Tapirmon-as-Apemon was hit by an Energetic Bomb from MetalMamemon, "I think it wasn't that bad, but there were a lot of rocks.  I must've gotten injured in the fight with MetalMamemon."

Kurai, who had been listening nearby, butted into the conversation.  "And _how did you get injured when you weren't even __close to the fight?"_

He tried to shrug, but it hurt too much.  "I don't know, but our lives have changed a lot since getting the D-Seeds."

That won a snort – somehow elegant – from the thief.  "D-Seeds.  What a stupid name."

Phloem tried to think of the best reply to that statement.  The thief was always radiating a feeling of hatred that was as fiery as Relaina's was cold.  "Why do you hate everyone so much?"  Instead of answering, the thief sniffed as he turned away.  _You wouldn't understand, his attitude seemed to say.  __Of course I will, Phloem wanted to reply, but it seemed best just to let him go for now._

The thief walked on for a while until he saw Rime trying to clean his own wounds and bandage them.  The first he did a bit awkwardly, albeit successfully, and the second… he wasn't having as much luck with the second.  Rime had his shirt off, showing off a body with nicely formed muscles, and was fruitlessly trying to wrap a particularly nasty gash on his upper arm.  _D*** rocks, he thought quietly.  __Phloem could've found a better place to pick a fight._

"Need some help?" Kurai asked politely.

Rime shot him a glare, but then he nodded.  "If you would," he replied coldly.  Tapirmon, to Rime's right, looked between worry and relief.  With an evil grin, the lone thief sat down to "help."

He _did bandage the wound, but he also made it as painful as possible.  "I wonder why no one else wanted to help," the thief asked with a tinge of sarcasm._

The prince gritted teeth as Kurai continued the painful process.  "Let me explain.  Relaina couldn't care less, Tapirmon can't hold a bandage correctly, Sho likes being by himself so much that it'd be almost pointless to ask him, Tatsu hardly wants to be around anybody but Sakura, and Sakura is bandaging Phloem for around the same reasons.  Magnus, Pixie and Brian aren't sure if they trust me yet, and Alan is too nervous around me."  As Kurai finished, he gingerly tried to move his arm.  The prince was surprised when it still felt fine.  He threw Kurai a suspicious glance.

"Just because I want to kill you doesn't mean I will – yet," the dark one replied to the other's unspoken message.

Rime's Tapirmon was the one to answer, "You could've fooled me.  Did you have to make it _that painful?"_

As the thief sat silent, the prince was the one to reply, "He did, because he blames me for everything bad that has ever happened to him.  I am, in his opinion, the highest point of evil, and I must be gotten rid of.  But he is confused now, because of my encounter with what was apparently Cherubimon and my rapid change.  The only reason he agreed to help me was that he wanted to make it as painful for me as possible."

Tsukaimon flew in lazily from his position in a tree.  "You certainly know how to read people well, you Highness," the Digimon said.

"It's in the job requirements."

"_Right_," interjected the irritated burglar, "and being a highly officious jerk-in-a-box must be in the job description, too!"  A pissed-off pickpocket took another section of bandage and quickly gagged Rime before he could react, and then he got up and left.

Rime looked at Tsukaimon questioningly as he began to remove the gag.  "Don't ask me!  I've only know her for a day or two," protested the Digimon before following his partner.  Tsukaimon accidentally bumped into Alan as he tried to find Kurai.  "Hey, kid, have you seen Kurai?"

"Yes," he said dryly as Veemon picked up his glasses from the forest floor.  "He just bumped into me, cursed me out, and vanished."  Tsukaimon shook his head sadly and continued on his search while Alan stuck on his glasses and walked off again.

The brain of the group was trying to think of where they could go from where they were.  He realized that there must have been some reason that the news report only blamed Phloem, and not the others, for kidnapping Rime.  He found the clearing where the campfire had been last night, and he saw Magnus, Brian, Tatsu, and Pixie sitting around it.  He found a smooth rock and also sat down, not noticing that Sakura, Salamon, Tapirmon, and Phloem entered a few seconds later.

Taking a stick from the ground nearby, he started drawing in the sandy ground.  He took his mini-computer out and used it to find out their location.  "This is where we are," he muttered as he marked the place on the map he had sketched, "if the positioning system is correct."  _I knew I should've installed that map module.  He marked three spots in the surrounding are.  __These are the three nearest large cities._

As he continued to sketch, he imagined that a map was really there.  It seemed to shimmer on top of the sand in his imagination.  The names of the cities even appeared on it.  The voice of Veemon interrupted his thoughts.  "Nice map," he commented.  Alan's head shot up quickly, and the map that had been on the ground disappeared.  "How did you make it appear and disappear like that?"

"It was actually there?" he asked with surprise.

"Yep."

"It was actually there?"

"I thought I was the stupid one… Yes, it was."

The happy voice of Guilmon put in, "I saw it, too!  It was neat, but I thought that it was coming out of his computer."

The one in question shook his head, "No, I don't have a map on my computer."

"Then what was the map?" the general in the group asked.

Tatsu murmured something to Sakura, and she nodded.  "We think he's an illusionist," she informed them.  "Maybe every one of the Digidestined has a special power," Salamon added on.

"An illusionist?  That would be interesting," Alan said as he concentrated on making a different image appear.  A completely still bluebird appeared in the air.  With a touch more effort, the bird began to move.  It was very simple for him to control the small illusion.  After a few moments, Patamon flew up to it to investigate.

"It's definitely not real," he said as he flew right through the bird.  His curiosity satisfied, he returned to sit on Brian's shoulder.  "What was the map for in the first place?"

Because having the bird illusion was beginning to get tiring – using illusions felt similar to moving a limb that had never been exercised before – Alan canceled it out as he answered, "I was wondering where we were going to go next.  The three closest cities to us – if my positioning system is right – are Justice Lake, Lumière, and Haven."

"Somehow, it just doesn't make sense to have a global positioning system, but not a map," commented Otamamon.

He turned red.  "I was _going to install it, but I never had the time," he mumbled._

"Brian, we should go to your winter house," Magnus said.  "I told all of the servants that we were going there; that's why we weren't suspected in Rime's so-called 'kidnapping.'"  The general nodded in agreement.

"That's about two day's walk upriver," Tatsu made one of his rare comments.

Monodramon corrected him, "It's four; we have to pass around Haven and Justice Lake if we don't want trouble."

"It might take longer," Phloem ventured to add on, "Because there _are some members in this group who aren't used to walking for that long, we might have to rest often."_

Sakura suggested, "If anyone _really needs to rest, Hoshi or Kage could carry them.  We still won't travel __quite as fast as Tatsu and I usually do, but it won't be that much slower."_

Phloem nodded in agreement.  "That's a good plan.  But we still need to tell it to the people that aren't here right now."  He considered who would probably get the message across best.  "Magnus, why don't you go tell Relaina while Guilmon tells Sho?"  _Relaina won't listen to Magnus as much as she would to someone higher ranked like Brian, but there's less of a personality clash, and I have a feeling that Gabumon will make sure that she listens.  And Sho and SnowAgumon will get along well with Guilmon.  People with dinosaur type Digimon tend to trust other dinosaur Digimon. "And Pixie, why don't you tell Rime?  He might listen to you because you __are the High Princess."  __And she's been dying to talk to Rime for some reason that I think __is mixed up with Brian.  It seems to me like they're beginning to like each other.  I wonder where that relationship will go?_

Conveniently, Tsukaimon flew in right then.  "Have _any of you seen Kurai?"_

"No, but if you see her, can you tell her that we plan to leave soon?"

"Sure, sure.  I just need to find her first."

It was with a touch of surprise that Phloem noticed that they listened to him without argument.  Magnus, Guilmon, Tsukaimon, and Pixie and Otamamon left to find the other members of the Digidestined without arguing that someone else should do the job.  He was not used to people listening to him.  _//I hope I'm not the goggle boy of this group,// he thought glumly to Tapirmon as he thought of the legends that surrounded them.  __//Being a leader to the Digidestined sounds hard.//_

_//Don't worry,// came the reply, __//it's not that bad.//_

_I wonder how Tapirmon knows that?  It's like he was actually there.  But that's impossible, even for Digimon, right?_

********

"Magnus is coming over here," Gabumon informed Relaina.  They were sitting on a rocky bank of the River that was five feet above the white data that swirled on the top of the water.

"I heard him," she replied calmly.  "I just didn't know who it was.  I wonder what he wants?"

"Maybe he wants to compliment you on that fabulous job you did with the telekinesis on the MetalMamemon yesterday."

"Right," she said sarcastically, "and there's a democracy on the moon guarded by little green Digimon."

"You never know.  But can't you try being even _slightly friendly to Magnus or any of the others?"_

She shook her head.  "Gabumon, I don't need friends," she almost snapped back.  "In this world, there's no point in it because they could be taken away from you at any time."

"And that's why you have the Digivice!" he exclaimed.  "You wouldn't have received a Digivice with the Crest of Love is Zhuqiaomon thought that you couldn't handle it.  And I know that you can handle it, Relaina.  Why don't you try to get into a position where you can change the very things about this country that make you unhappy?"

Before she could reply, Magnus arrived and crouched down.  "It's a nice view," he commented.

"What do you want?" she retorted sharply.

"Phloem just asked me to tell you that we're going to start traveling soon.  We're going to Brian's manor above Justice Lake."

She didn't even bother to look at him.  Instead, she casually flicked a rock into the River, at the same time giving the impression that that was what she thought of being told by Magnus.  "Why did you listen to _Phloem?  He's probably not as highly ranked as you."_

_She's talkative today.  She must get along better in very small groups.  With a sigh of annoyance, Magnus straightened.  "He understands people better," was his reply.  "I think that it's his empathy, but he knows who is competent at what, and how they feel about what they do."_

"Emotional manipulation," was her opinion.

"No.  He didn't blackmail me with my own emotions.  He just suggested the best course of action, and I took it.  Why bother to argue?"

"I still don't like it."  She began to get up.  He offered her a hand to help, but she ignored it and began to walk away.

"Who ever said that you had to?"

She paused and took in the implications of that.  "I guess that I don't have to," she admitted grudgingly before beginning to walk away.  _No orders from anyone… just suggestions and help.  Can a group like ours really change anything?_

"You know, Relaina," Magnus said as he kept pace with her, "you did a really good job with that telekinesis last night.  We definitely couldn't of won without your help."

She was surprised and a bit pleased to receive a compliment, but, as always, she hid those emotions.  "You're welcome," was all she said.

********

Minutes later, everyone was walking away from the now-abandoned campsite.  Tsukaimon had found Kurai, Pixie looked happy because Rime had broken off the engagement with no arguments, and the whole group was just ready to go.  Tatsu and Sakura had packed up their things, and now Tatsu had a quarterstaff strapped on his back.

By the forth day of walking, including all of the stops to rest, setting up camp at sunset, and then continuing their hike in the morning, the Digidestined again had to set up camp, but this time they were only two miles from the city of Justice Lake.

As usual, everyone had helped with one chore or another, and at least one person was always up to watch for any wild Digimon that might attack.  But when Kurai woke up for her watch and Rime wasn't there, he immediately knew that something was wrong and went to wake up Phloem.

"Phloem!" he hissed when he gave him a good shaking to wake him up.  "Rime's disappeared!"

He shot awake.  "He's gone?"  Tapirmon also stirred groggily.

"That's right, idiot.  I knew that we couldn't trust him."

"Don't make assumptions," he said calmly.  "He might have a reason for doing this, and if you use your teleportation to get us to Justice Lake, I'm sure that we can catch up to him."

"Whatever," the thief replied rudely.  "Just let me get Tsukaimon and we can go and retrieve the _prince," he sneered.  "It's almost dawn, and Rime should be at the city by now.  If we run into trouble, even __Tsukaimon will come in handy."_

********

"This isn't a smart thing to do," Sorcerymon told Rime, "and I have a bad feeling about this."  _That's why I Digivolved to Champion.  Rime might have become a better person, but every person messes up sometimes._

Rime sighed.  "Sorcerymon, I just want to get back to the Palace so that Phloem and the others don't get in trouble.  The sooner I get to the Palace, the sooner I can end this whole mess and start changing things the way I can – and the only way that an Emperor can.  The others may want to change it another way, but none of them have a plan yet."

"I don't know… I feel like there is something evil at the Palace.  We shouldn't go back there until we are stronger."

"If there's something evil at the Palace, then _I will defeat it.  I am now, unofficially, the Emperor of the Angel's Domain."_

The ice wizard Digimon changed the subject.  "I'm glad that you weren't upset when Pixie asked you to end the engagement."

"I didn't want to marry her.  I don't think that I want to get into a relationship yet."

A smile was apparent on the wizard's face.  "When Kurai helps you with your bandages that's not what you think.  Why do you keep asking him to help when it ends up hurting every time?"

Rime blushed slightly.  "Don't be sarcastic, Sorcerymon.  You know very well why."

"Nothing's wrong with being bi, Rime – or homosexual, for that matter.  And three years isn't too bad of an age gap, right?"

He shook his head.  "It'll never happen.  Kurai hates my guts so much that if I asked him out on a date, I would have to get someone _else's help to bandage brand-new injuries.  But look – there's the gate to Justice Lake."  Over a hill, they finally were able to see the white curtain wall that kept wild Digimon out of the city as the sun finally peeked over the horizon.  Near the large gate were a Tankmon and a Tyrannomon with their human partners._

The humans stopped Rime at the gate.  "Who are you?"

"I'm High Prince Rime," he told them coldly.  Being around non-Digidestined made him want to act like he used to before receiving his D-Seed.

They looked speculative.  "Really.  Wait right here, and we'll open the gate for you."  The one who had spoken went into a gatehouse and the gate did open fully.  But behind it there was a rumbling, and then there were five more Tankmon and another five Tyrannomon filing out the gate.  At the head of the group was a MetalTyrranomon.

"What's this about?" he demanded.

"We are the Tankmon and Tyrannomon Troops," the partner of the Triceramon informed him, "and we give you greetings from Lord and Lady Haven.  Triceramon, destroy him!"

"Tri-Horn Attack!" roared the Ultimate level dinosaur Digimon.  Sorcerymon pulled Rime out of the way before the attack could hit.

The erupting battle was interrupted by two calls.

"Tsukaimon Digivolve to… BlackGatomon!"

"Tapirmon Digivolve to… Apemon!"  One part of Rime's mind thought, _Oh, he can __speak._

Kurai and Phloem appeared next to Rime.  "Idiot," the thief told him, "you really need to work on your people skills."

"You're one to talk," he argued even as their Digimon fought.  A blast from Triceramon came dangerously close to Sorcerymon.  "And _I didn't do anything.  The Havens betrayed me."_

"Brian must have sensed something like this would happen," Phloem told them while keeping a careful eye on Apemon, "or _he would've suggested going to the capital.  Apemon!  You're too close to Triceramon!"_

Triceramon used a Mega Dash, and when Apemon dodged the tackle, he almost ran into a Hyper Cannon attack from a Tankmon.  _//I can't fight them like this!// Apemon said desperately.  __//We're not strong enough!//_

Determined to not lose this, Phloem concentrated on his D-Seed.  _I need to give power to Apemon.  If I…  A Fire Blast from one of the six Tyrannomon hit Apemon, and Phloem fell to his knees, gasping in pain, as he felt a bad burn appear on his right leg – exactly where Apemon had been hit.  __If I don't, we'll both be killed.  He continued to concentrate on the D-Seed, and used it and his link to Apemon to give his power to the Digimon.  __We're more than partners; we're best friends.  I wouldn't want __to keep on living if he died!_

The Digivice began to glow with a bright blue light.  It seemed to reflect a hundredfold off Apemon as he resonated with the power.

"Apemon Digivolve to… Mammothmon!"  The enemy was stunned; suddenly, an Ultimate was on the prince's side, too.  But the sides were still uneven: as Ultimate went against Ultimate, the Tankmon ganged up on Sorcerymon as the Tyrannomon did the same for BlackGatomon.  BlackGatomon was able to take out two, and then Sorcerymon took down one with an Aquarius Fill.  As the Digimon were taken out, the humans fainted or went into shock.  Then the remaining opponent humans also became involved in the fight, and Rime, Kurai, and Phloem had to sit duck behind rocks to keep away from the bullets.

"Freezing Breath!" roared the large, wooly Digimon as he breathed out.  One arm of Triceramon and one Tyrannomon froze.  The Tyrannomon burst into dust, and one soldier went into shock as his bond disappeared.

"Good job with the Digivolving," Rime called to Phloem, "but I don't think it will be enough!"

Most of Phloem's energy had been given up to help Apemon Digivolve.  He was almost completely worn out.  "I hope it is," he said tiredly.  The burn on his leg was sending waves of agonizing pain throughout his whole leg.  "I don't think I can do anything else…"

"Then I'll try.  We can't give up yet," Rime said.  He concentrated, as he had seen Phloem do, on his D-Seed.  _Sorcerymon, we can do this.  You've always been my best friend, kind even when I was cruel.  If I can't help you out of this mess, then my change would have been for nothing.  Please accept my power… so that I can cleanse my conscience of the years of cruelness that I put you through…  The D-Seed responded with a purple light, and perhaps Sorcerymon had heard his partner's thoughts, for he also began to glow purple._

"Sorcerymon Digivolve to… Shakkoumon!"  The large, metal angel Digimon powered up to attack.  "Kachina Bomb!"  With one blow, he took out all of the Tyrannomon that were still surrounding him.  Another blast, and the three Tankmon were also gone.

Mammothmon, who finally did not have to worry about dodging attacks from other Digimon, was able to seriously fight with Triceramon.  Triceramon was able to use Mega Dash to leave a gash in the back of Mammothmon, and Phloem let out a strangled cry of pain as a new wound formed on his back and left a red stain visible through his brown shirt.  As Rime threw him a worried glance, Shakkoumon fired his red Justice Beams from his eyes.  Triceramon was completely destroyed, and his partner fell into unconsciousness.

All of the Digimon returned, exhausted, to their Rookie forms.  The badly injured Phloem smiled gratefully at Tapirmon as the Digimon came over to support him.  "Thanks," he panted before blacked out.  The wounds were too painful for him to take any longer.

~**TBC**~

**Akugi: Why Phloem got stuck as the goggle boy…**

Chibigreen: Okay, everyone!  We need to decide who's the goggle boy in this group!

Cast:  Why?

Chibigreen:  The leader of the Digidestined is always a guy and usually has a name that starts with "T."  The only exception to that rule was Daisuke, but in that group, I wonder if he was actually a co-leader with Takeru…

Rime: Write a thesis on it some _other day.  Now, what are these "goggles" that the leader has to wear?_

Chibigreen: *Pulls out a pair of goggles that would look nice… if they weren't a horrible shade of orange-brown.*  These are them!

Magnus: I am _not wearing them._

Rime, Sho, Alan, Brian, and Tatsu: Same here!  *All of them back away nervously.*

Chibigreen: Come on!  I need someone to wear them!  *Looks around until she sees Phloem reading a book.  He didn't hear her ask, so he didn't say no.  She gets an evil grin and walks over to Phloem.  Before he knows what's happening, the goggles are stuck on his head.*

Phloem: What…?  *Notices goggles.*  Ah!  Goggles…cutting…off…blood…circulation…to…head… Can't…think…

Chibigreen: Shut up.  You know they're not doing anything like that.

Phloem: *Grins.*  I know, but they're such an ugly color.

Chibigreen: And the goggles turn green… *Exercises her Authoress Powers, and the goggles do turn a nice shade of green.*  That's the nicest color I could think of.

Phloem: Thanks!  ^__^  I'll put them in storage for now.  *The goggles vanish.*

Chibigreen: Ah, a case of Character Powers.  He stuck them away in a space where he'll suddenly be able to take them out of thin air at any time.  That's how Heero Yuy carries a gun in his spandex shorts. *Holds up a sign: "Chibigreen does not own Gundam Wing."*

Cast: Huh?  What's Gundam Wing?

Chibigreen:  Never mind that!  Now get back to your places!  We're going to run through the "Tankmon and Tyrannomon Attack!" scene once more.

Cast: Awwwww…

**Chibigreen's Notes: Hmm… With the way this is going, maybe I should make the rating PG-13…**

My friend, Fox Girl Aisha, came up with the idea that goggle boys act stupid occasionally because the goggles keep oxygen from reaching their brains.  The credit for the latter idea that I used in the akugi goes to her.

This will be my last chapter out for about a week or more because I am taking a vacation!  When I come back, I will probably be suffering from FanFiction.net Deprivation.  And my muse hasn't been helping with writing; he claim's that I'm wrong about the pairings in the story.

Chibi Rime: You are!

Chibigreen:  What's the problem?

Chibi Rime:  You cut out that nice yaoi bit with Phloem and me in it!  What about all of the emotional turmoil for Phloem that was supposed to happen?

Chibigreen:  He was too chibi to torture.

Chibi Phloem: She says that, and then she makes me get injured when Tapirmon is wounded…?

Chibigreen:  And I didn't like the pairing one bit.-+

Chibi Phloem:  Thank you, Miss Chibigreen!  Can I be your temporary muse again while Rime is out?

Chibigreen:  Sure!  I need a muse to help me write, and you were actually pretty good.  *The two shake hands while Rime sulks.*

Chibi Phloem:  Yes!  If I'm her muse, I can make sure I don't get killed!  ^_^

Chibigreen: Darn…

I am** _not _accepting any more characters!  So please do**** _not _submit one…**

_Please_ click on the itsy bitsy button that says "Submit Review."  I'd really appreciate it!****


	9. Where the Weremon Are

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon or any of the main characters except for Rime and Phloem.

**Warnings:** None for this chapter.

**Chapter 8: **Where the Weremon Are****

The thief-turned-Digidestined was sulking around the campfire.  After meeting back up with the others (and having to carry an unconscious Phloem the whole way), both Kurai and Rime were grouchy and high-strung.  There had been many arguments as they had walked back, followed by periods of uncomfortable silence.

"My clothes are going to be bloodstained after this one," Rime had said while it was his turn to carry Phloem.  The Ultimate-level Digimon had not been able to maintain their form for long, and now they were all back at Rookie.

"You're such a stuck-up jerk," Kurai had replied acidly.  "You care more about your clothes than anything else, don't you?"

"No, but you seem to have such an idiotic sense of pride that you can't even try to care about anything!"

"I bet that you care more about yourself than anyone else!"

"I would do anything to fix the sins that I have done in the past!  And at least I care about my Digimon!"

Both of them had shut up after that, and the Digimon had made no comments except to throw worried glances their way.  And now Kurai was doing nothing but fume as the rest made sure that Phloem was okay.  His thoughts slid back to Rime.  He is so annoying!

Kurai is infuriating, Rime thought as he watched the shadowy figure stalk around the edges of the camp.  You would think that a normal person wouldn't act like that, but he doesn't even respect his Digimon.  I didn't, either, he amended his thoughts, but I don't think that I could control that.  He went back to watching Phloem.

He had somehow managed to take the brunt of Tapirmon's injuries on himself.  The wounds had somehow been transferred to him, and now they would not stop bleeding.  His skin was growing paler by the minute.  "How much longer will he last?" Rime asked Sakura quietly.

"I don't know.  I don't often take care of injured people, and he's worse off than anyone I've ever seen.  But I think that he must be determined to live if he's lasted this long."  She was tired; they all were tired.  Phloem's Tapirmon had curled up by his partner's body to comfort his friend, even if some of the blood did leak onto him.

Tapirmon lifted his head.  "We won't last much longer," he said in a hoarse voice.

A wave of surprise went through the group.  Tapirmon had never spoken before.

"Do you know how long he'll last?" asked Rime's partner quietly.

The other Tapirmon shook his head.  "No, but when he dies, I'll die with him."  He shivered; his body grew slightly colder.  "I guess my coming back was useless after all.  All I ever do is cause my friends pain."

"What do you mean by 'coming back?'" asked Tsukaimon.  "Were you killed once before you found Rime or something?"

"I think… It's more than that, right?" Brian guessed.

Tapirmon nodded.  "It all started… a very long time ago…

"It was the time of the original Digidestined, the Chosen Children of Japan.  It was not the first set of Digidestined that I helped, but the second.  By my time, the first set was merely a legend about a group of strange creatures called 'humans' that had helped the Digiworld evolve into what it was.  I was around for the second set of Digidestined, a group that included one of my friends.

"At the time, I was a Wizardmon.  She was a Gatomon, and she worked with the Chosen Child of Light.  To protect her from Vamdemon, I sacrificed myself by throwing my body in front of Vamdemon's attack.  It saved her, but destroyed me.  But I still hung around…

"Years later, the Digimon guardian called Quinlongmon asked me to deliver a warning to Gatomon.  Though I was little more than a soul, I did so gladly, just to be able to see Gatomon again.  In the end, however, I was not able to stay around.  I began to work for the Guardians.  However, I was never able to come back completely.  I stayed around until I was needed again.

"Baihumon said that I was part of a prophecy that had been around since the Digiworld was formed.  It was said that one day, there would be a regular Digimon who would be a protector to those who saved the world.  That it would die, but then live through a horrendous merging of both worlds, and when a great evil reappeared, the Digimon would find his partner.  That person would be chosen to become the leader of the new Digidestined, and only through him could the Digidestined be fully gathered.

"And that is how I went on to find Phloem and become his partner."  Tapirmon was beginning to fade now.   He gritted his teeth and concentrated on staying alive.  "I don't know how much longer I can hold on!  Was this all for nothing?"

Sho was wondering all that himself.  In the few days that they all had known each other, everyone was finally starting to become closer.  He had almost not minded traveling with them.  But if one of their group died, everything would be useless.  He clenched his fist angrily.  SnowAgumon looked up at him.

"I think you might be able to help."

He didn't see any way he possibly could.  "How?"

SnowAgumon nudged him.  "Just try.  I have a feeling that you can.  Concentrate on his wounds healing quickly."

He closed his eyes and did as his Digimon advised.  As he grew more focused, a curious sensation began to grow in the back of his mind, almost like an itch.  His body began to glow with a blue light, and then the light slowly spread to Phloem.

Slowly, blood stopped leaking spreading across the bandages.  Bloodstains in the area completely vanished, and color slowly returned to Phloem's skin, and slowly the glowing dimmed until it as gone as the blood that had been coming out of Phloem.

Sho opened his eyes, which widened slightly when he saw that Phloem and Tapirmon now looked completely healthy.  "It worked," he murmured.

"I knew you could do it," SnowAgumon said proudly.

Tapirmon said to Sho, "Thank you for saving our lives, Sho.  We were truly about to die."

He shrugged.  "It was nothing.  I think that I'll go wander for a while."  He got up and made as if to leave.

"Wait, please," a new voice called out.  A boy around Phloem's age, but taller, stepped out of the woods.  He had blonde hair, emerald green eyes, and a well-built, but slightly thin, figure.  No Digimon walked beside him.  "I need to speak to you."

Magnus's hand immediately went to his gun, and the Digimon went into defensive positions.  "Who are you?" the bodyguard growled.  He hadn't drawn his weapon yet.

"I'm here to talk.  I know who you all are, and I want to offer you my assistance.  Rumors that you were here have spread even to the ears of the weremon.  An ambush has been prepared by the one known as 'Lady Haven' and her so-called Piximon."

"The weremon?"

After sniffing the air, Guilmon said, "He doesn't smell like a human, Magnus.  He smells like a Digimon."

Tapirmon floated away from Rime and towards the mysterious boy.  "We will gladly accept your assistance.  The Guardians have told me about your kind."

The boy nodded.  "Then carry the one of Friendship and follow me.  We must hurry.  A search party is approaching, though my men are delaying them as much as they can.  Follow me if you choose to trust me."  He vanished into the trees.

With a yawn, Brian stood.  "Let's go.  I think it's the right choice."  There were a few cautious nods around the clearing, and then they got ready to go and followed the boy out.  Tapirmon Digivolved to Apemon and picked up the still-unconscious Phloem before carrying him out of the clearing.

&*&*&*&*&

It was a while before they reached the River, though the boy seemed to have chosen the easiest path for the horses to take.  Across this part of the River was an old rusted bridge that was in poor condition.  It looked as if it had been abandoned long ago.

"This was a famous bridge that used to lead to a bustling city on the other side," the boy said quietly as he paused at the start of it.  "But, long ago, the Great River flooded quickly and almost completely destroyed the city.  The people survived, for the most part, and left to go to places that did not hold frightening memories."  He continued to walk, and the others followed him slowly.  Their feet clanked against the metal in the silence that only the rushing of the River filled.

As soon as they were on the other side, the bridge dissolved like a deleted Digimon and its data merged with that of the River.  Seeing that they had noticed, the boy said, "The bridge was abandoned after the flood, and it collapsed because it was not repaired.  But the River took the bridge into itself, and now the bridge appears for any that the River wants to cross over it.  Where we stepped onto it was where the original bridge was.  We are now much further up the River because it knew that I wanted to be here."  No one knew what to say to that.

Soon they came upon a bustling village.  It was full of men and women and happy children, but no Digimon.  "What is this place?" wondered Alan.  "There aren't any Digimon anywhere…"

"And just who are you?" asked Pixie.  She looked at his silk shirt and blue shorts.  "Those look normal, but those styles are ancient history."

The boy smiled kindly.  "I am Vahn til' Galendros, and this is the Village of the Weremon."

"Yes, but what are 'weremon?'" asked Otamamon.  "I can tell that there are no Digimon here."

"What I want to know is why he brought us here," Relaina said stiffly.  What the heck are these people?  What do they want with us?

"I understand that you are confused by all of this.  Let's continue on to my house before I explain."

They continued to walk through the village, and at the center was a building that was much larger than those around it.  It was made of wood and stone, like the others, but this one seemed finer somehow.  Vahn showed them inside after showing Sakura and Tatsu where to leave their horses, and then he led them to a spacious meeting room.  Four tables were in a square formation in there, and on each side were large, comfortable chairs.  One was larger than most, and in that one Vahn was about to sit when he looked at Phloem.

"You can set him down in this chair," Vahn said to Apemon.  "He's still recovering from that sudden healing, so it would be better for him in this one."

Apemon nodded and followed Vahn's advice.  "Thank you," he said when he had devolved once again.

"Don't mention it."  He looked around to see that everyone was still standing.  "You can stand if you want to, but sitting down is much more comfortable after a long hike," Vahn said as he chose a chair for himself.  Slowly, everyone else sat down, too.  "Now I'll explain just what weremon are."

He took a deep breath.  "A very long time ago, during the Digital Realization where everything changed, a few men and women who had had partners in the opposite world then the one that they were in at the time became caught in a warp of sorts.  Because the Realization was the merging of the two worlds and the Digimon partners were the counterparts of the people, the people and the Digimon became merged into one being.

"However, these people were not a hybrid between Digimon and humans.  The new-formed world still had a clear separation between the two, so the newly formed beings could not show traits of both species at once.  The ones that survived looked either completely human or completely Digimon.

"Eventually, one of these beings discovered that it was able to change its shape from human to Digimon and back again.  This person was old at the time, and he was the son of the Digidestined of Light, Kari Kamiya.  His human form was that of an old man, and his Digimon form was a Gatomon.

"He worked to discover others who had been merged similarly.  However, as their group became larger, they were persecuted and had to flee from the anarchy-suffering countries many times.  Many of their group survived and came to rest at this space, where they eventually built this village.  They came to call themselves 'weremon,' as they were neither human or Digimon and could change their shape like the humans in the legends of the werewolves.

"The village continued to grow and prosper, and weremon who heard about the village went to it to live there.  The area had someone come to accept the weremon so much that it is impossible for any that will cause harm to the weremon to find their way here.  The weremon, closer to Digimon than most, were also called on by the Holy and Guardian Digimon to guard the land.  It was prophesized that one day, new Digidestined would come and help to create a world protected from evil; it would be a world where human, weremon, and Digimon are all equal.  And then the Guardians told us that they had come, and that we should watch for people with powers that we weremon thought only us were capable of.  And so we watched and waited, and we have found you."

Kurai looked unhappy.  "I don't believe that I could've been prophesized in anything.  This is probably just a load of bull, or an excuse as to why some humans don't have partner Digimon or something.  I don't believe any of it."

Vahn sighed sadly.  "There's only one way to convince you, then.  As the prince of the weremon, I will show you my other form."  He began to glow brightly, and the light became too bright to see through.  It began to dim, and then a human was no longer sitting where Vahn had been.  In his place was a Lucemon, one of the most powerful and most rare Digimon in the world.

&*&*&*&*&

Phloem opened his eyes slowly.  He was in a warm, plushy seat, and there was a comforting voice telling a story to his friends.  Across from him, he saw the owner of the voice.  It was a handsome boy his own age, but he did not feel quite human to Phloem's senses.  He finished his story, and then Kurai made a disparaging remark.  The boy sighed and said something.  Phloem's hearing was slightly fuzzy; he was not completely awake yet.  But his sight was fine, and he saw the boy glow and change into a Lucemon.

It's beautiful, was his first coherent thought.  Lucemon was an awe-inspiring Digimon.  He had six sets of wings, blue eyes, and blonde hair.  His skin was pale and covered with blue tattoos, and he wore a garment somewhat like a toga.  On his wrists and ankles were large bracelets.  Not only was he a striking and powerful Digimon, he was one of the most human-like Digimon in existence.

He sat up.  "That's amazing…"

The Lucemon smiled shyly.  "Thanks for the compliment."

"It's good to see that you're okay, Phloem," Pixie told him.  "You had us really worried for a while, but then Sho was able to heal you."

"Where are we?"

"The Village of the Weremon," Alan said.  "This is apparently the prince of the weremon, and his name is Vahn til' Galendros.  The weremon are a people who have been able to transform between human and Digimon since the Digital Realization, and Vahn said that they could use abilities like your empathy and Sho's healing, too.  Vahn led us here because he said that there were search parties out looking for us, and the land around the village won't let them find us."

"How did people and Digimon merge?"

"I'll tell you later," Vahn said.  He transformed back into his human self.  "Right now, I think that we have to find a way for you to be able to travel around unnoticed.  Weremon have spies everywhere.  Let me explain the situation in the outside world right now.

"The Lady Haven that is currently manipulating Lord Haven is not the real Lady Haven.  Every once in a while, a child is born in our village who is not a weremon, but a normal human with a Digimon partner.  We give these a name, and then we leave them with a normal human couple.  The first Lady Haven was one of those, but then her twin, a weremon, saw a way to gain power and freedom in the outside world and had her twin sister assassinated.  She took her sister's place.

"The 'Piximon' that is supposed to be her partner is actually a Bakemon that is under the Lady's control.  It only appears to be a Piximon because of a Bakemon's power to change its appearance.

"Somehow, the weremon Lady Haven has also coerced the Lord Haven into following her every whim.  Her dream is to take the throne, and she has planned to have the Emperor, Princess Pixie, and Prince Rime killed the entire time she has been in her position.  When the High Princess disappeared, the soldiers reported that she had been killed so that the Lady would not punish them for losing track of her.  I myself did not know that was a lie until I saw the Princess alive and unharmed.  On top of that, the search for the prince is actually a scam so that the soldiers she has bought can kill him, but you probably already know that.

"In other words, you need to somehow be able to pull a coup on the Lady so that she does not take over the state.  We believe her intentions are for power only, and she would not hesitate at torturing or killing any who got in her way.  And, unless you have more than one Ultimate on you team, you will find it difficult to destroy her."

"What's her Digimon form?" Sakura asked.

"Arukenimon."

 "I don't see of a way we can get anywhere close to her," Alan said slowly.  "There's bound to be leaks as long as everyone else thinks that Rime or Phloem is still alive."

Nobody could disagree with that, and after a few minutes, Phloem suggested tentatively that they just hide in the house for two or more months before trying to get Rime into the capital.

Rime dismissed the idea immediately.  "There's no way that I'm staying in a house for that long, no matter how large it is."  The wanted "kidnapper" had to agree with him.

If anybody had asked Relaina, she could have suggested something.  However, no one would ever ask her because of her cold and unfriendly attitude.  After listening to many pointless suggestions, and getting tired of having to sit in the room listening to pointless jabbering, she finally stood up.  "When would Kurai stop bugging Rime?" she asked after the thief had done just that.

"When he's dead," most of the people and Digimon in the room promptly replied.  She smiled – which was more like a slight tugging at the corners of her mouth than a full smile – and left the room with Gabumon.

"I'm going to sit outside.  This room's too full of idiots."  Some didn't know which would surprise them more: that she had insulted them, that she had left, that she had talked, or that she had almost smiled.

The first one did not surprise them that much, but the last three left most speechless.  Only Magnus, Brian, and Sho fully understood her point, and the Magnus's respect for Relaina grew immensely as he realized that she had seen a way to do it that no one else had.

"What did she mean by that?" Vahn asked, slightly disturbed by the hint about killing Rime, a few minutes later.

Then Sho smiled.  Is this the international Have-Antisocial-People-Smile Day? Brian wondered as Sho spoke.

"It means that they won't stop chasing after Rime and Phloem until that they think both are dead," he explained patiently to the part of the room that hadn't understood.

"I know that," Brian said seriously as he folded his hands on the table, "and I have a plan."  Everyone's attention was riveted on him.  He smiled as if this was all a big prank to play.  "And here is what we'll do… I'll need everyone's full support on this one."

Patamon's ears shot up.  "Who are we playing the joke on?"

"It's not a joke.  I think I know the way to make everyone stop looking for Phloem."

"Just get to the point already," grumbled Kurai.  He followed the thief's advice and began to lay out his plan…

&*&*Three days later…*&*&

It was a dark and moonless night near the dimly lit city of Haven.  Both Phloem and Rime walked quietly up to the city gates.  Two sleepy guards were watching on top of the barrier walls, and one languidly elbowed the other.

"Hey," he yawned, "that one looks a bit like High Prince Rime…"

The other guard shot awake.  "W-what?  You two down there!  Halt!" he ordered the wandering pair.

Suddenly, a wild Growlmon burst out of the wilderness of trees that lay to either side of the city..  With one quick leap, it landed near Rime and promptly ate him in one single gulp.  Phloem seemed to be frozen in his tracks with fear that showed over every inch of his face.  The Growlmon made another short snack out of him before being attacked by the two enraged Tapirmon of the former prince and soldier duo.

The Champion Level Digimon also made quick work of the two Digimon.  With one bite, each one dissolved into data that easily dispersed into the air.  Then the guards were up and chasing the Growlmon, and it was running away through the forest.  They followed in his wake with their Agumon, but when they got to the River, the Growlmon was suddenly not there.

One of the soldiers bent down to examine the tracks – it was the same one who had pointed Rime out.  "His tracks disappear into the River."

The other soldier also examined them.  "That's not our problem.  And if we claim the credit for getting rid of that soldier kid and Rime, then the Lord and Lady of this city will reward us greatly."

On the way back to the city, they found a few scraps of clothing with blood on them stuck on the bushes near the main road.  "This is even better," proclaimed the guard who had been sleeping.  "These look like they came from the clothing of His Late Highness and the other kid.  His Lordship and Her Ladyship will have to believe us now."  The two now-contented guards walked back to the city, dreaming of the rich rewards that they would get for "destroying" their masters' chief problem.

**Akugi**

Vahn: I will show you my other form.  *Begins his transformation scene.  Bright light glows and dims, revealing him as…*

Phloem: Roachmon?!  Gross!  What a scary sight…

Vahn: *Looks down at himself.*  WHAT?!  Who changed my costume?  I want answers, now!  (How am I supposed to impress Phloem if I don't?)

Rime: *whistles innocently*

Patamon: I need to take prank lessons from him…

Brian: Bad idea, buddy.  Chibigreen would kill you and find a new actor.

Relaina: It's amazing how much muses can get away with.  *Evil grin.*

**Chibigreen's Ending Notes: Ooh, I bet you loved that ending.  Who wants me to explain?  *sees many hands raised*  Well, sorry, but I can't yet.  That's for the next chapter! ^___^ You can try to explain if you want…**

Sorry for the delay.  My weeklong vacation doubled itself somehow, and then I started school. _ My English teacher scared everyone the first day by saying, "If you manage to get a 70…" But my art teacher likes anime.  ^___^

I'm not accepting any more characters.

Tell me your opinion!  **REVIEW!**


	10. Eye of the Hurricane

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or any of the main characters in this fic except for Rime and Phloem.  I also came up with the idea of 'weremon.'  Most Digimon that appear in this fic I looked up at Sora's Digimon Palace Digidex.

**Warnings:** Implied shounen ai.

**Chapter 9:** Eye of the Hurricane

_"It was reported this morning that both High Prince Rime and his kidnapper, Phloem Greenhill, were killed by two corrupt guards upon entering Haven yesterday, and the bodies were entirely destroyed.  The guards are currently in custody until the Lord and Lady Haven personally decide on their sentence.  Under law, the Lord Haven is to be crowned Emperor because the High Princess Pixie Sugienna has recently resigned from her position in a letter, stating emotional turmoil over losing her fiancé as the cause for her resigning.  In other new…"_ Alan turned off his handheld computer as he looked at the others assembled in Van's house.  "That says it.  We're off the hook, finally."

"Faking that… was an interesting experience," Sho remarked.

Pixie began to giggle.  "I wonder how they faked that letter," she said between burst of laughter.  "No offense, Rime, but I wouldn't of been _that_ traumatized if you had actually died."

Rime ignored the comment.  "What's important is that most people do think I'm dead."

"I didn't like having to donate blood," Phloem muttered.  He was now dressed in a set of Vahn's clothing that was too big on him.  The shorter boy had had to give up his clothes – which were quite bloodstained in the first place – so that the mock death of he and Rime would go through smoothly.

"If there hadn't been fresh blood on the scraps of clothes, they wouldn't of believed that you were dead," retorted Brian.  He was proud that his plan had been pulled off.

The world viewed Rime and Phloem as deceased because Brian's plan had worked so well.  It had begun with everyone in their places: Phloem and Rime just out of sight from Haven's walls, Relaina in a position where she could levitate Alan to a better viewpoint with her telekinesis, and various other members of the team hidden in the treetops thanks to Kurai's teleportation abilities.  Once Phloem and Rime had walked up to the city, Growlmon (Digivolved from Guilmon) 'attacked' them.  Alan had held an illusion over them that had made it seem like Growlmon had ingested the pair and destroyed the Digimon, but in reality Kurai had teleported there and teleported away with the humans.  The Digimon had only been illusions in the first place.

Afterwards, Growlmon had led the guards on a chase as Magnus carefully planted the bloodied scraps of cloth along the route the guards had taken.  The blood had been given from Rime and Phloem earlier, and they had also given up their clothing to create the false evidence.  Kurai, after dropping the two of them off in a safe place, had teleported immediately to Growlmon and teleported him away so that it looked as if he had jumped in the River.  In all, it had been realistic enough to convince the guards and their superiors because of the tracks, broken foliage, and stained clothing.

"You're right," Phloem acquiesced.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Tatsu.

"We've jumped the first hurdle, but we're running up fast to the next and we don't even know exactly what it is," Sakura said thoughtfully.

"Then we should stop and take a break," put in Magnus.  "If we don't do what we need to properly, we could fail."

"Unless you overdo it," Kurai said with a glare in the prince's direction.

Tsukaimon snorted a threw a look at his partner.  "He's not the only one, you know."

"Overdoing anything can be as bad as not doing enough," Vahn said.  "Magnus is right, we should take a break.  We're all tired from the hike to Haven and back, so some rest will do us only good."

The meeting broke up, and everyone went his or her separate way.  Magnus wandered around for a while, but then he found a secluded spot and decided to sit on a comfortable rock as Guilmon stood by him.  He noted that Relaina was sitting in the lower branches of a tree in front of him with Gabumon further below her.  Neither said anything for a few minutes, though they did observe each other.

"You were great the other day," Magnus told her after contemplating his words.  "I was surprised at how good you were with your telekinesis already."

Her retort was sharp.  "Why were you _surprised_?  Was it because I'm a girl that's younger than you?"  Gabumon rolled his eyes and sighed.  She never changed.

"Well, no," the bodyguard answered candidly.  Relaina elegantly lifted an eyebrow.  "I was surprised because I didn't think that all of the traveling we were doing was giving you time to practice.  I was impressed."

"Oh."  They lapsed into silence again until Relaina finally talked again.  "Are you upset that you don't have a special power?"

"I do have a special power," he replied.  "It comes out when I'm fighting, or when I want it to.  My speed, reflexes, and abilities are greatly increased, but even with an adrenaline rush I can only hold it for fifteen minutes max."

"That seems strange for a special power."

"Yeah, but you should see him when he uses it," said Guilmon happily.  "He goes boom, bang, kapow! and I can hardly see him when I'm a Rookie."  He had been gesturing as he spoke, and at the end he slipped and fell over.  He ended up sprawled on his stomach on the ground.  "Oops."

Guilmon looked very comical as he lay there.  Relaina had to smile at the sight, and then she began to laugh for the first time in years.

"You have a nice laugh, Relaina," Magnus said as she quieted down again.

"I guess."  _I didn't know I still knew_ how _to laugh._  "It feels nice to laugh."

Beneath Relaina, Gabumon looked happy.  _She's finally starting to be happy again.  I think that she's finally considering him a friend._  He went to help Guilmon get up as Relaina and Magnus lapsed into silence again, but this time it was a comfortable silence.

*******

Near the back of the house, there was a low wall overlooking a lake.  Aquatic-type weremon splashed around in it playfully.  Pixie, Brian, and their Digimon sat peacefully on the wall, enjoying the view.

"Do you think that we'll survive whatever is coming our way?" Pixie wondered as one particularly hyper Dolphmon leaped high into the air.

"I think so," said Brian.  "We've done a lot already, and I think that we'll make it."

"Do you have any idea what we have to do?"

"Hmm… We're going to have to defeat the Havens and put Rime on the throne.  The Emperor is the only person who can change the way the government works, so it would be best if one of us Digidestined were on the throne.  Rime's the one with the strongest claim for kingship, so it'd be easiest for us to do it that way."

"He's changed a lot," Pixie replied to the unspoken "even if I don't really trust Rime."  "He'll change the way the Angel's Domain does everything, and he'll make it better."

"I guess so…" Brian trailed off.  "Hey, Miss Sugar, what do you plan to do after our mini-war is over?"

She swished her legs back and forth and looked up into the sky.  "When this is over… I don't know.  My life used to be planned out for me, even if I didn't like it.  I would have married Rime and became the next Empress.  But I didn't want to, and now I don't have to.  I broke off the engagement, but now… I really don't know."

"I'm glad that you don't have to marry Rime."

"Any particular reason why?" she said teasingly.  "Do _you_ want to go out with me?"

He began to blush, but then he said, "Okay.  I'll take you out to a nice restaurant, when all of this is over."  He grinned.  "Didn't expect me to take you up on your offer, did you?"

It was her turn to blush.  "Actually, I was hoping that you would."

A few minutes later, Otamamon and Patamon both noted with amusement that their partners were holding hands.

*******

Kurai sat gloomily on the roof of the house.  He felt so lonely and secluded, even with Tsukaimon by his side.  Some of it was because of his realization that nothing that had happened to him had been Tsukaimon's fault and that he had worsened the situation by pushing Tsukaimon away.

"Will you forgive me?" Tsukaimon asked suddenly.  Kurai didn't reply, but the Digimon continued, "I've been a horrible Digimon.  I haven't been around when you needed me, and when you _did_ need me, I couldn't Digivolve, but both of the Tapirmon could."  Tears were forming in his eyes.

Impulsively, the thief hugged his Patamon-like Digimon.  "No, it's all my faulty, Tsukaimon.  I've been a b*tch towards you, and you're supposed to be the best friend I could ever have!  I was just not able to face up to the fact that my life has been better since you came around.  I've been able to fight now, instead of just run away.  So, forgive me."

"I've never blamed you."  He flapped his ears happily.  "By the way, are you ever going to tell everyone else about _that_?"

He got the Digimon's meaning.  "I don't know how you know about _that_, but I might tell them – eventually.  How did you find out?"

"I've had my suspicions because of how you act sometimes.  You calling yourself a b**** instead of a jerk or a son of a b**** just clinched it."

Kurai sighed.  "Look, it's my choice if I want to dress and act like a guy," she said.  "I've never actually told them that I _was_ a guy, so I didn't lie.  They just assumed from my hinting that I _was_ a guy."

"So, here's the all important question: Do you like girls, or guys?"

She slapped him.  "I like guys, you idiot!"

Tapirmon and Rime climbed over the roof.  He had used a trapdoor to get up to the top just in time to hear Kurai say that "he" liked guys.  "You're homosexual?" Rime asked Kurai.

She turned a bright red.  "NO!  I don't like girls…" she mumbled.

"Then you're homosexual."

"Grr…"

"You could just swear him to secrecy," suggested her Digimon.

"Rime, do you promise _never_ to tell anyone what I'm about to tell you?" she demanded.

"Okay."  Kurai got up and whispered in his ear.  He nearly fell off the roof.  "Dear gods!" he choked on laughter.  "Everyone's going to freak out if they find out _that_!"

"I thought that you said that you wouldn't tell!" Kurai wailed.

"I won't… if you go out on a date with me."

She punched him in arm.  "Fat freaking chance!" she said as she walked away in a huff and teleported when she reached the edge of the roof.  But Tsukaimon could have sworn that she had the start of a blush on her cheeks.

*******

Phloem was the only one still sitting inside.  He was staring at nothing and thinking over recent events.  That included Tapirmon beginning to talk aloud, and Tapirmon's past.  Tapirmon had explained it to him that morning.

"Phloem?  What's wrong?" asked the Digimon.  "Are you mad because I broke my promise?"

"Ah, what?" he said dazedly.  Then he smiled.  "Oh, no, I'm mad at all, Tapirmon.  I'm happy that you're talking.  I was just wondering why you began to talk again."

He looked serious.  "When I realized that me not talking was not going to save your life, it became unimportant.  I also wanted somebody to know of my past if I was again going to die."

"I understand."  He considered how they seemed to be bonded together in almost every aspect.  "I wonder what's so different about us."

Just then, Vahn walked into the room.  "Hi, Phloem.  Are you worried about something?"  He pulled a chair closer to Phloem.

"I'm worried about how closely bonded I am to Tapirmon.  If he gets hurt, I also get hurt.  We share thoughts, emotions, and sometimes even our dreams.  When I was dying, he was fading, too."  His fist clenched until the knuckles were white.  "I don't want him to die because of me."

Vahn reached over and held his hand comfortingly.  "It's not your fault that you two are so close, Phloem.  It's happened to others before this, or that's what I've heard.  Some humans are just closer to their Digimon than other humans.  It's not the same as being a weremon, but it's something similar."

"Why does it happen?"

"I wish I knew.  Let's go outside.  It's a very nice day today."  Vahn let go of Phloem's hand and the two walked outside.  The weremon led him to a temple-like place.  "This is the library, though it is also the place where all of our records are kept.  I've already requested that you and all of your friends be allowed to see the records."

"Don't they _have_ to do what you say?  I thought that you were their prince."  The only system of government he had experience with was that of the capital.

Vahn shook his head negatively.  "No.  I _may_ be their prince, but I am more like a chosen leader.  It is not a permanent, supreme position; if the people feel like I am a bad ruler, I am kicked out of my position, if not this town.  Also, I have a council of advisors who also have the power to decide things, and they vote yes or no on my decisions."  He opened the door to the library and led Phloem past rows of ancient books to a room with books that varied in age.  Both were surprised to see that Tatsu, Sakura, and their Digimon were already in there.

Sakura waved politely.  "Hello.  We were looking for the records on hybrids that have passed by this village.  Do you know where those records are kept?"  Vahn nodded and went towards a shelf in the back of the room.  He did not ask what they wanted it for.

"What're hybrids?" wondered Phloem.

She answered, "People that are unusually close to Digimon sometimes pick up Digimon-like traits, and in those cases they are called hybrids.  The process of becoming more Digimon-like is called hybridization."

"It sounds like you're working with plants, using that term," he said as he rubbed the back of his head in a nervous gesture.  _Is that what's happening to me?_

Then Vahn pulled out a book that was dry and slightly dusty, like it had only been around few years.  He flipped to a page that had a marker in it and read, "'The Agumon people today have found a young girl that wandered into a village with a Gatomon at her side.  She is no more than five years old, but a curious thing about her is that she seems to be able to change her shape slightly.  When the Agumon-weremon found her, they claimed she had Gatomon-like ears and a tail, but now she does not.  But, I have seen these ears and tail with my own eyes.  She is not quite fully human, yet she has a Digimon partner.'  It stops there, but around two weeks later there's another passage.

"'We now have found another Digimon-like human.  This one has Cyberdramon-like wings on his back.  His Monodramon has a scar on his right hand, and the child has both his hand and his eyes wrapped in bandages.  I do not know how he can move about as if he can see, but perhaps he can 'see' in the same way that a Cyberdramon can.  The child claims that he was looking for the girl.'

"'Last night, both of the Digimon-human 'hybrids,' as they are now being called, have left town.  All of us sincerely hope that they are in good health.  They obviously had many worries for ones so young,'" Vahn finished reading.  He looked at Tatsu, Monodramon, Gatomon, and Sakura in surprise.  "I thought that you've been here before, but I _never_ thought that you were the hybrids."

Tatsu shifted uncomfortably and unclasped his cloak.  It fell with a swish to the ground, and then large wings unfurled from his back.  They were indeed just like a Cyberdramon's.

Then Sakura shape-shifted, and her cat ears and tail appeared again.  But these _were_ more like Gatomon ears than her usual ones.  "I didn't know that you were actually a hybrid, too," Tatsu murmured to her.

"You didn't want reminding of what you were, so I pretended that I wasn't," she told him gently.  "You didn't like being a hybrid."

Phloem was staring at both of them.  "That's… amazing," he said finally.  "I think it's neat that you are so close to your Digimon."

"You're that close to Tapirmon, too," said Vahn, "if not closer."  Everyone looked at him in surprise as he closed the book and put it back in its place.  "For some reason, you don't really show many of your Digimon's traits, but you do seem to be as closely bonded as you can be."

Closing his eyes, Phloem remembered his last Digimon battle.  _I felt like I was becoming part of Tapirmon as he Digivolved to Ultimate.  I was putting every ounce of myself into helping him get there.  And ever since I got my D-Seed, we had been even closer than before._  "I think we are," he said as he opened his eyes.  "But we only became so close recently, so I didn't pick up any of his traits.  Our bond has become stronger with time."  Vahn nodded understandably.

As Phloem spoke, Tatsu had recovered his wings and Sakura had made her extra Digimon appendages vanish again.  Both of them walked out together.  "We're two of a kind, Sakura," Tatsu said as he opened the library door.

"That's right, and we'll always be two of a kind," she promised as she held the door open for their Digimon.  "And we'll never let ourselves be separated again in the way we did when we were young."  Then she slid it shut behind them, leaving Vahn, Phloem, and Tapirmon alone.

Phloem looked towards Vahn.  "I guess I'll just have to be extra careful whenever I get into a battle, huh?  I don't really want the bond between me and Tapirmon to get weaker."

They exited the library.  As they walked along the streets, a Labramon was chasing a Nyaromon.  The Nyaromon ran up to hide behind Phloem and accidentally tripped him.  Vahn caught him as the two weremon ran off again.  "Sorry, misters!" they called back and giggled they continued their game of tag.

Both of the teenagers blushed as they realized that they looked like they had been embracing because of the way that Vahn had caught Phloem.  They hastily pulled away, but privately, Phloem thought that he hadn't really minded being "hugged" by Vahn.  As Tapirmon caught the gist of that thought, he sent a knowing look to Phloem and winked.  He turned a brighter shade of red.

"Well, ah, let's get back to you house now," Phloem said as his blush went away.  "We should meet back up with the others, I guess."

"Right," agreed Vahn readily.  In his mind, he was actually thinking, _I wonder if he's straight or not…_

"What do you think we'll end up doing?"

Vahn contemplated that for a few minutes.  "I'm not sure, but I think that today was like the eye of the hurricane.  We've had it pretty easy, but soon the eye wall will hit, and we'll be back into the action even more than before."

They were silent after that, but both of them were hoping that everyone would come through it okay.

**Chibigreen's Ending Notes:** I decided to start replying to comments in reviews.  ^___^  If you feel like commenting on this chapter (please do, in a review!), then I'll be happy to reply to it in the next chapter.

**Takeru and Hikari** – Thanks for the nice comments.  ^___^  The idea of weremon suddenly popped up one day in my head when I was reading a few Harry Potter fics that involved werewolves, and I wondered, "What would the Digimon version of werewolves be?  Weremon!"  It kind of progressed from there.  And, as you might've noticed, the shounen ai between Vahn and Phloem is finally beginning.  ^___^

**Steel Knight** – Yep, Sho's finally helping.  It took me a bit to develop his character (he was so darn quiet!  I didn't get any ideas…), but now he's going to be more apparent.  In this chapter he wasn't, but this chapter was focusing on romance.

**Tatsu-no-Houou** (That was you that reviewed, right?  There wasn't any name.) – I don't _think_ I need more info on Tatsu.  Sorry I made him so quiet in the last chapter, but he just didn't quite fit into the plot in it.  Is how I portrayed Tatsu in this chapter fine?

**ChibiSora** – I thought that you would like the evil grin part.  ^___^  And I decided that she would come up with the plan.  She sounded like the type of character who would do something like that.  I hope you don't mind me pairing up Magnus and Relaina.  It just seems to work out!

Feed my muses!  **REVIEW!**


	11. Disguises

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or any of the main characters in this fic except for Rime and Phloem.  I also came up with the idea of 'weremon.'  Most Digimon that appear in this fic I looked up at Sora's Digimon Palace Digidex.

**Chapter 10:** Disguises

Two weeks of rest let everyone regain their strength and their will to continue.  Alan continued to monitor the news, but the ruse of Phloem and Rime's death seemed to be holding up under inspections by the army.

They were eating dinner when Brian brought the subject of the future up.  "We need to do something," he said as he toyed with his fork.  "I have this strong feeling that we need to get back to the capital as quickly as we can.  Do we have the resources that we need to get in?"

"No," said Vahn, "and we never will until we beat the Havens.  The capital is heavily guarded, and it has always been that way, and it will always be that way because it is the headquarters of the imperial guards."

"Are the Havens ever going to leave the castle?" Alan asked.  "If they did, we might have a chance."

"This week, they will be visiting the city of Haven, according to the spies there.  We should be able to easily infiltrate in the dead of night.  We seem to have the specialists we need here with us."

Kurai knew that the comment was directed at her.  She shrugged.  "Yeah, I can get you in.  I've done some work in that town, so I know how to get us to where we need to be.  It'll be a cinch to teleport us through there, and I know of a good inn we can stay at inside the city."

"What's its name?" asked Vahn.

"The Turtle Tree Inn, which is a horrible name, but it has a good atmosphere.  The only problem is that my face is known in Haven, and people will probably recognize Rime, too.  They _might_ know Phloem and Pixie, but they probably won't.  You and I will have to wear disguises.  I'll good at disguises," she admitted, though only she understood exactly why Rime almost choked on his water when she said that.  Tsukaimon and Sorcerymon just traded knowing glances.

"And, pray tell, what will my disguise be, exactly?" asked Rime.  "And what will yours be?"

"I have a few things in mind for you.  I'll just be going as a girl."

Sakura blinked.  "You're going to cross-dress?"

She contemplated her choices of what to say to them.  _I could_ not _tell them, and just say that me looking exactly like a girl is just from experience.  Or I could enlighten them with the truth, and then I'd get to remember how hilarious the surprised looks on their faces are._  She opted for the second choice and put a hand on her hat.  "Actually, I'll just go as myself," she said as she took off her hat.  "They don't know the real me."  Waist-length black hair fell neatly from under it.  She shook it, enjoying the feel of it being loose.

Their looks of shocked surprise were better than she had hoped.

***_The next day…_***

"I can't believe this!" Rime said as he ran his hand through his _much_ shorter hair.  "You said that you weren't going to cut all of it off!"

"I didn't," Kurai said smugly.  "You have about the normal amount now."

The prince sighed and put on a pair of sunglasses that Kurai had given him to go with his new outfit.  "I hate having short hair.  When my hair is short, it looks spiked, like I'm some type of teen-aged delinquent."

"Shut up, Rime.  Plenty of normal people have spiked hair, so you'll fit right in."  The thief looked the prince over.  "Now no one will recognize you."

It was true.  He hardly looked like the same person, especially because of his new hairdo.  He was wearing black denim pants and a blue shirt that Kurai had gotten from the weremon.  Overall, he looked much less arrogant, though he didn't look any kinder.

As for Kurai, she had kept her hair down and changed into blue jeans and a black shirt.  She also had loosened the bandages she had used to bound her chest, so her figure did look more feminine.  People would not be able to identify her if they were looking for a guy.

Eyes were raised at the thief and prince's new look, but no one commented.  They were focused on the future as they wondered what might happen to them.

A few minutes later, they were gathered at the end of the bridge over the River.  It had again moved while they were on it, but this time it moved them back towards Haven.  Vahn, having left the weremon in the hands of an advisor, was also with them.  Sorcerymon had gone back into his Tapirmon form because it was an uncommon Champion form, and Tatsu and Sakura's horses had been left behind in the care of the weremon.

"Everyone, you have to be touching me or touching someone who's touching me," Kurai ordered, "or else you'll be left behind."  They shuffled around for a few seconds until they were lined up together.  "All right, then.  Humans ready?  Digimon ready?"

"Duh," said Tsukaimon.

She glared slightly at her Digimon.  "I'll take that as a 'yes.'  Let's go!"  With a quick, focused burst of power, the humans, Digimon, and weremon vanished.

And they landed in a heap.  "Ouch!"  There was a scramble to get out of the pile.

"Tsukaimon!  Your paw's shoved in my ear!"  "That's not _my_ paw!  That's Patamon's!"  "Gross!  My poor paw!"  "Someone's elbow is sticking in the back of my neck!"  "Who stepped on me?"  "I'm gonna have a black eye after this one…"  "Ouch!  I hope my leg's still attached."  "Just shut up!"  "At least my glasses aren't broken…"  "How did we get in this stupid mess?"

Tatsu was the first to step out of the pile, and he took the time to observe his surroundings.  They were in the back of a long, dead-end alleyway with a door on the right.  On the door was a picture of a turtle.

Eventually everyone was able to untangle themselves from the pile.  As they dusted themselves off, the turtle door opened a crack.  A bright blue eye peeked out from the space near the handle, and then the door flew open.  A pink-haired bundle of energy tackled Kurai.

"You're back!" the girl shouted.  "You're back, you're back, you're back!  Come on in!  We're empty today!"  The girl held firmly onto Kurai's hand and pulled her into the building.

"I know I'm back," Kurai sighed as she motioned for everyone else to follow her.  "You don't have to shout it."  Bemusedly, the others went in after her and shut the door behind them.

They found themselves in the common room of a fairly well kept inn.  Many plants scattered around the room gave it an outdoors feeling, and tantalizing smells wafted from the kitchen behind the counter that also served as a bar.  The wooden tables throughout the room were clean and dust free, as was the rest of the inn.

A second pink-haired, blue-eyed girl peeked from around a corner.  When she saw Kurai, she repeated the first one's action of tackling her.  "Oh, Kurai!  You're back!  Mom, Dad!  She's back!" she shouted as she held onto Kurai's leg.  A Floramon peeked shyly from around the corner.

The first twin noticed the others for the first time.  "And she brought friends!"

"Lots of friends!" added the second.

A man and a woman walked in from the kitchen, followed by a Gotsumon and a Candlemon.  The man was tall and thin with brown hair and eyes.  The woman had blonde hair and green eyes.  "Oh, Kurai!  We didn't expect to see you around for a while," she said.  "Who're your friends?"

"It's kinda a long story," Kurai said sheepishly.  "But we need a place to stay for a day or two.  It shouldn't be any longer."

"Kurai," the man said sternly, "this isn't any of your _usual_ business, right?"

"Absolutely not!" she said cheerfully.  "It's much more dangerous."

"That's cool," sighed one of the twins.  "It's an adventure, right?  That's how you met so many guys, right?"

"Pretty much.  But this isn't one of my regular adventures.  For one, I'm not planning on stealing anything."

An understanding look came into the man's eyes.  "The Havens?"

"Yeah."

"We need to discuss this, then," the woman said.  "Follow me."  She showed them to a small bedroom near the kitchen, and then she showed them a well-concealed set of stone stairs.  They walked down a few flights into a basement, and her Candlemon provided the light and lit small torches along the way.

The basement had a stone floor, but in some places a carpet was thrown down and seats were scattered about.  There were doors that led to more rooms in the back, and a fireplace warmed it.

"No wonder you liked this in, Kurai!" said Tsukaimon with awe in his voice as he alighted on her shoulder.  "It's perfect for a base!"

"You've found your Digimon," the woman commented.  "That's good.  You can use this, since it sounds like you're planning to fight the Havens.  Do you really think that you can succeed?"

"Yes," was her reply.  "We can tell you all about it, Mrs. Greenhill."

_Their name is_ Greenhill_?_ thought Phloem as Kurai began to explain.  _I wonder if I'm related to them.  It'd be wonderful to meet my parents again._

"So, that's why we need to stay here," finished Kurai.  "We just need to rest until we break into the castle."

Mrs. Greenhill let out a sigh.  "Feel free to stay here.  We haven't had any news lately; this inn's almost empty because the Havens have been limiting communication and travel in and out of the city for months.  I was wondering what the uproar was about.  When did this all start?"

"It was my fault," Rime said sheepishly.  "I had Phloem imprisoned, and it all snowballed from there."

A sad expression crossed her face.  "Phloem?  I had a son named that, but I was told that he was killed ten years ago for not having a Digimon."

It was Phloem's Tapirmon who spoke up.  "You're Phloem's mother?!"

"Do you mean to say that he's alive?!"

********

_Elsewhere…_

Inside the dimly lighted room, two shadowy figures looked over 3D hologram of the Angel's Domain.  The city of Haven was highlighted

"They have appeared in the city, my lord.  At that troublesome Turtle Tree Inn, I believe," a clear, musical voice came from the taller and slimmer of the figures.

The heavyset figure stirred.  "Shall we let them come, my lady?" he replied harsher voice.

"Yes," said the first voice.  "It should prove to be…amusing."

The man pressed a panel on the edge of the map.  "Yes, your lordship?" asked a timid voice over the connection.

"Summon the Eight.  Have them meet in the coliseum."

"T-the Eight, your lordship?  Y-yes, sir, of course."  The voice faded.

The taller of the figures smirked.  "Yes, this will be _most_ entertaining."

~**Akugi:** Who's Line is it Anyway? style~

Rime: *at desk, holding up sign: 'Chibigreen doesn't own 'Who's Line is it Anyway?'*  You're not welcome to our show.  I'm Rime, and I'll be hosting today.  And here's today's contestants!

Sakura: *narrating* From the time of the original Digidestined, this Digimon has a _long_ history behind him.  It's Tapirmon!

Tapirmon: *appears floating over stool*

Brain: *also narrating* And our next contestant has definitely had a strange life!  Meet the thieving transvestite, Kurai Happatai!

Kurai: Think of a politer name next time!

Sakura: We will!  *grins*  Our third victim…ah, participator…is known for his silence and wrapping his eyes in bandages!  It's the cutest Digidestined, Tatsu!

Tatsu: Sakura… *apparently rolls his eyes, but it can't be seen through the bandages*

Brian:  And the final contestant is a princess who hates to be one!  It's… Pixie Sugar!

Pixie: It's Sugienna, not Sugar!

Rime: Whatever.  Let's start the show.  Today, we'll be playing a game called 'Change.'  It will be between all four contestants.  The scene they will be playing out is the 'Phloem's mom discovered' scene, with Tapirmon playing himself, Pixie playing me, and Kurai playing Phloem's mother.  Whenever Tatsu says, "Change," then the last person that said something has to change what he said.  Ready… Go!

Pixie: It was my fault.  I did something stupid and decided to have Phloem locked up for my own amusement, but my plan didn't go the way I'd cruelly hoped.

Rime: That's not what I said…

Kurai: *overly dramatic* Phloem?  I had a son named that. *wipes away a nonexistent tear*  He was killed ten years ago for not having a Digimon.  Oh, I'm so sad!

Tapirmon: *sweatdrops* You're Phloem's mother?!

Tatsu: Change.

Tapirmon: You're Phloem's teddy bear?!

Tatsu: Change.

Tapirmon: You're a mouse?!

Tatsu: Change.

Tapirmon: You're a piece of rotting cheese?!

Tatsu: Change.

Tapirmon: You're a psychotic talking rabbit?!

Rime: *hits the buzzer*  Good job.  Everyone doesn't get any points because this isn't real!  BWAHAHAHA!  Thank you for watching… er, reading.__

**Chibigreen's Ending Notes:** Oh, well, I no longer have the e-mail address I use on my bio page.  Someone used tried to break into my account, and I only found out because I got a few e-mails with my password in them that said my password had been requested using my e-mail address.  So, now I have a new e-mail address, but you can still contact me at furret05@yahoo.com.

I also decided to let my muses reply to/eat the reviews for me.  This should be interesting… Phloem, you're a muse again.  You go first.

Chibi Phloem: That's fine with me.  **AlenAlectai** sent in the first one.  Chibigreen thanks you for the nice compliment.  *eats review*  It tastes like… vanilla pudding. 

Chibi Rime: *grabs review*  Let's see…  The first one I'll reply to is from **Tatsu no Houou**… Look, I know that you want more attention on your characters, but the truth is, Chibigreen should focus on _me_.

Chibigreen: Rime!

Chibi Rime: That's my opinion, anyway.  But she'll be putting more detail into your characters, no matter what I think.  *eats the review*  Grilled chicken.

Chibi Phloem: This one is from **ChibiSora**.  She was polite enough to throw the review at the other muses, and it hit Rime in the head.  Chibigreen's glad that you liked Relaina's evil grin.  *eats review thoughtfully*  And the flavor is…hmm…mixed berry?

Chibi Rime: Whatever.  I get the next one. *grabs review*  It's from **PrincessKitty-Chan**.  How come all of the fanfiction fans suffer from Internet deprivation?  Chibigreen's glad that you're finally coming to terms with the fact that Kurai is going to fall for me, whether you like it or not.  And this review tastes like chocolate… Considering who wrote it, that isn't a surprise.  Did you spill chocolate syrup on the review?

Chibi Phloem: And I get the last one!  Yay!  It's from **Takeru and Hikari**!  I'm glad that you liked the romance, considering that I was one of the characters in the Vahn/Phloem part.  ^__^  It tastes like… Cotton candy.

Chibigreen: Why cotton candy?

Chibi Phloem: It's fluffy, like the stuff that should happen between Vahn and me.

Chibigreen:  ^__^;;  I get the hint…

Chibi Phloem: We hope to see you back the next chapter!  In the next chapter, the action REALLY begins!  (And I don't get a big part.  _)

Feed my muses!  **REVIEW!**


	12. Dark Destroyers Part 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or any of the main characters in this fic except for Rime and Phloem.  I also came up with the idea of 'weremon.'  Most Digimon that appear in this fic I looked up at Sora's Digimon Palace Digidex.  And most of the bad guys' names (and only their names) came from good guys in either Suikoden or Suikoden II for PlayStation, which I don't own, either.

**Chapter 11:** Dark Destroyers (Part 1)

The Greenhills were ecstatic that Phloem was alive, even the twins.  His parents were happy to learn that he was still alive, and the twins were glad that they had an older brother.  The twins were nine years old, so Phloem had never seen them before he was taken away.  The two of them had one Digimon, a Floramon, who was much more held back than they were.

It was an awkward situation for Phloem.  He was more than happy to have his parents back, but they still remember him as a five-year-old and they still treated him like he was still one.

They did seem different than most parents.  He noticed that they treated Kurai like they had adopted her, and he saw signs around the inn that seemed to indicate that the inn had a secret, not widely known purpose.  His parents still kept them in the basement room to be safe.

At dinner, he asked his parents about why they were no longer on a farm.

"We had too many bad memories of it," his father explained.  "After all, two of our children had been taken away from us on it.  We moved into Haven just after Stigma and Style's birth."  Stigma and Style were the pink-haired twins.  "Then we opened the inn, but we couldn't leave when the Havens started to get rougher.  From what we _have_ been able to hear from other cities, the Havens are starting to use the same policy throughout the Angels' Domain."

"They set a curfew," his mother continued as she served a vegetable soup, "and the punishments can be harsh for anyone breaking it.  Shops have to be specifically licensed for each type of item that they sell, and taxes on some luxury and non-luxury items are high.  On top of that, no one but the nobles are allowed to receive a public education, as all children of the 'lower classes' are supposed to spend their day working.  Without much free travel in and out of the city, most items and food _have_ to be bought from the Havens' personal traders at high prices.  Poverty is widespread, and rebellious groups have begun to form."

"We support one of them called 'The World Tree,'" admitted Mr. Greenhill.  "It's not against the whole empire, like most of the others are.  Instead, we just want freedom from the Havens."

Rime looked cynical.  "You're in the minority, aren't you?  Everyone else _must_ be anti-imperial."

He looked startled at the accusation, but then he shook his head gently.  "No, Your Highness, we're actually the largest group."

"Oh," was all Rime said.  He leaned back in his chair with an introspective look.

Mrs. Greenhill smiled at Phloem.  "We're proud of you.  It's nice to know that our son is fighting against our enemies, and you've certainly made a lot of friends.  Odd friends, that's to be sure," she said with a wry glance at Kurai, "but all of them seem to be nice people."

"Hey, Mrs. Greenhill," complained Kurai, "that was a low blow.  Rime's not _that_ strange."

A few people laughed at that.  The prince still looked meditative, and he hadn't heard the joke at his expense.

Stigma and Style traded glances and looked at Phloem and the rest with wisdom in their eyes that was too old for them.  "We'd like to know…" began Stigma, who was distinguishable from her sister only by the red and yellow band around her wrist.

Style was the twin with the green and blue bracelet.  "…what you plan to do if you get to the Havens," she finished.  "Do you have it in you…"

"…to kill them or let them free?  It may be a choice that you need to make."

A silence descended over the table.  Tatsu crossed his arms and frowned.  "We will decide that when we need to," he said.

"Not that we _want_ to kill them or anything," added Sakura cheerfully.  "We've never really talked about it.  It's never nice to be forced into these situations."

"We'll do what we have to do," Relaina added.  Magnus nodded in firm agreement, and Sho shrugged, showing that he'd go either way.  However, Alan looked shaken by the thought of having to kill.  _I hope that it's something I don't need to do,_ he thought. 

Suddenly, Brian stood up.  "Someone's coming," he said with the sureness that his special ability gave him.

Pixie tried listening for them with her ears, but a different sense that she hadn't used before kicked in.  _"I just want to get this raid over with,"_ she 'heard' in her mind.  _"Four regular guards to raid a small inn… Why didn't one of Lady Haven's personal servants take care of this?"_

Another was thinking, _"What a stupid business.  If the Eight weren't busy with something, we wouldn't be here."_

"There's guards coming," she gasped.  "I can hear their thoughts."  Everyone began to stand up.

"You must leave immediately," Mr. Greenhill said.  "You'll have to teleport into the palace, Kurai."

The Digimon and humans moved closer to Kurai so that they could leave, but Vahn stayed where he was.  "You go," he said firmly.  "I will stay here and protect them."

"Vahn…" Phloem had a worried look in his eyes.

"I'll be fine, and I'll make sure that you're family is not harmed.  Phloem, you need to go."

Reluctantly, he nodded.  "Thank you, Vahn," he said just before Kurai teleported.  Then Vahn was left alone with Phloem's family.

"You stay down here," he told them.  "I'll be able to take care of the soldiers."

He walked up the stairs to face his enemies.

********

During the teleport, Kurai could feel it all proceeding normally until she tried to end it outside the castle.  A force from inside the Havens' castle reached out and grabbed her in its hold, and then she and everyone with her was pulled into it.  She tried to resist, but whatever was doing it had an enormous amount of power.

They were dropped off inside the center of the castle.  Having thieved from it before, she knew without looking that they were in a gigantic central court that resembled a coliseum with greenery.  She cursed as she saw that the Lord and Lady were sitting comfortably near in throne-like chairs at the first level of the coliseum's seats.  "Somehow they laid a trap for my teleporting," she warned everyone else.  "Something's not right here."

The ground beneath their feet began to rumble, making them go into defensive positions.  When the earth opened up under them, only Phloem, Rime, and their Digimon, which had been near the center, were not able to get away.  Rime could feel himself falling for only a few feet before he could no longer feel anything.

"No way!" shouted Brian.  He was close enough to the hole to see what it contained.  "It's a pool of data!  They've been absorbed into it!"

It wasn't the sparkling white substance that formed the River.  It was a pond of muted black with blood red swirls inside it.  The data was motionless and somehow all the more sinister for it, like a black panther waiting to pounce on easy prey.

Lady Haven stood and smiled.  "If Prince Rime and that soldier boy were actually dead before, they will be soon.  My stagnant pool of corrupted data has now eaten two humans and two Digimon.  It will receive you all into its blackness before this night is over."

"No, it won't," Magnus said while giving her a cold glare.  "We'll destroy you first."

The Lady smirked.  "I don't think so."  She approached her husband with a sweet smile on her face.  "My lord, we should release the Eight now, and add your strength to them to make the Nine!"

He nodded in agreement and pressed a jewel into his throne's arm.  The platform that he was on rose up higher into the air, and eight Digimon and eight humans could be seen in the chamber that had been concealed under it.  _All_ of the Digimon were at the Ultimate level, and the humans did not look like poor fighters themselves.

The Lord Haven descended regally from the platform with his Piximon by his side.  His plain features seemed to shine for a moment, but then they went back to their blanket of normality.  Once he stood at the bottom, he spoke.  "Greetings.  You are rebelling against my rule, so we decided to play a game with you."  He didn't sound happy or worried about this.  "These are the Eight, the personal fighters of the Emperor.  Together, we form the Nine Dark Destroyers."  He gestured with his hand, and the first human and Digimon pair took a step forward.

"Marcus and his partner, Giromon," Haven said.  Giromon was a metal ball with an evil, toothed grin, red eyes, horns, and gloved hands.  In one hand, it carried a chainsaw.  Its partner looked and dressed similarly.  He was around the age of twenty-five.  He was thin, but muscled, with uneven black hair.  His red eyes had a cruel set to them, and on his back he carried a scythe.  He was dressed in a silver-gray version of the standard soldier's uniform.

"Panjyamon and Killey."  Killey and Panjyamon both had a colorless, frigid look to them.  Panjyamon looked like a very muscled, white, and larger version of Leomon.  His partner, Killey, had long, pale blonde hair and silvery gray eyes, and his most prominent facial feature was his long, elegant nose.  He was taller than Marcus, but his build appeared less muscular.  His uniform was an icy blue, and somehow it emphasized the arrogant look on his face.  The only weapon that he had was a spear.

A young woman with an expressionless face and dressed in a black uniform stepped forward with her Digimon partner.  "Sierra and Bastemon."  Bastemon looked like a cat goddess.  With long, red hair in a braid (a feature that she shares with her partner), two tails, and leopard-like legs, she was an elegant mix of beauty and danger.  Her look was that of a belly dancer, and the purple veil that hung over the lower part of her catlike face emphasized that, as did the bracelets on her arms, legs, and tails.  Her partner looked dangerous in a similar way, though her bright blue eyes contrasted with her somber look.  If Sierra had a weapon, none were visible on her.

"GrappLeomon and Shiro."  Shiro was slightly older than the others.  His hair was gray, but not from age, and his uniform was red-orange.  He seemed to be excited with the prospect of a fight; he seemed to be almost jumping with energy.  He wore black gloves with steel knuckles on them.  GrappLeomon was an android Leomon with long incisors and a red mane held back by a steel bar that was attached to his robot-like body.

"Luc and Karatenmon."  Both of them looked like they did not fit in with the rest of the group.  Luc was carrying a long bow and wearing a pale yellow and gold uniform.  He had auburn hair and amber eyes that seemed to hold a secret.  He was shorter than most, but he still had a sense of strength around him.  On the other hand, Karatenmon was an impressive Digimon.  Like a crow from the heavens, he had a humanlike body with a birdlike head.  His upper arms and body bore purplish armor, as did his lower legs.  He wore tan cloth pants, and on his belt was attached a double sheath that held two golden swords.  A yellow, crystal-like protrusion decorated his head armor.  His wings, spread elegantly behind him, were placed protectively over his partner.

"Bulbmon and Gen." Bulbmon was another machine-type Digimon.  Its main body was some type of 24-sided geometric figure.  Its cylindrical head came from the top and had one of the side's metal plating on it.  Two long metal arms and four strong and steady metal legs came from its copper-colored body.  The ends of the arms and legs were steel, but most his arms and legs were an ugly, rusted color, like the color of dried blood. Gen, its partner, had the same sturdy look.  He was neither short nor tall, he had normal dark hair and brown eyes, and the only things that distinguished him was the jagged scar that ran from above one eye to trail down his chin.  His uniform was rust red, and a double-headed ax was in a sheath at his side. 

"WaruSeadramon and Tir."  The dark Seadramon was a frightening picture.  With black head armor that had orange spikes behind it, red fins, and green-striped red skin, its colors enforced its angry look.  His teeth looked sharp and ready to eat anything.  Tir also looked angry in his dark green uniform.  The wooden end of his spear-like weapon, a glaive, incessantly tapped the ground as he impatiently waited for an outlet for his angry nature.  His bright blue hair and irate green eyes added to his irritated appearance.

"Cleo and JewelBeemon."  Both sides of the partnership looked impressive.  Cleo had a compassionate look to her.  She had short purple hair and eyes, and her uniform was a creamy pink.  She was fairly tall and slim and would probably be considered pretty.  However, she still looked determined to fight, and there were two guns strapped around her waist.  The Digimon, JewelBeemon, was a wonder to look at.  His body was similar to a Stingmon's, but it was stronger and taller.  Several hard jewels were set into his green armor, which also had red in it around the arms and legs.  His knees had spikes, and in his hand he carried a wooden staff with a red crystal spearhead.  He was the only Digimon that appeared slightly uneasy, even if he and his partner appeared to be the strongest fighters in their team.

"And, of course, Piximon and I."  Haven was certainly a strong figure.  His features looked plain, if slightly handsome in a rugged way.  He was wearing a uniform version of the Emperor's white and gold clothes, and he had a shield sheathed at his side and a sword strapped on his back.  His Piximon looked subdued and dangerous, which was strange for a Digimon that stereotypically very happy.

"Each of you will be fighting one of us, and you choose who.  You will be provided with a weapon, and then the games will start."  He smirked.  "If you manage to win, you'll be given the chance to rescue your friends.  If you lose, you die, and if you choose not to fight, then you die a painful death."

Magnus told them quietly, "It's dangerous, but we have to try."  Louder, he asked, "Where're the weapons?"  _I already have mine, but Sakura and Tatsu are the only other ones with some._

The ground rumbled again, and behind them rose a wall full of different types of weapons.  After serious thought, Alan chose a spear.  Kurai grabbed a set of daggers, and Pixie selected a bow and arrows.  Most of the others chose swords because that was the weapon that people normally trained with, though Magnus did not select anything but a shield.  Sakura and Tatsu didn't choose any weapon from the rack.

Some of the Digidestined were pale with nervousness.  Alan, Pixie, and Kurai had never been trained to fight, and that was mostly why they were feeling unsure of themselves.  It was obvious that Digimon would be fighting Digimon and human would be against human, so their Digimon could not protect them.

Each Digidestined walked to face one of the Dark Destroyers.  Strangely, all of their fears and worries began to melt away from them.  The fight seemed almost fated to happen, and who won or who lost was up in the air.

Human faced human, each side with their own fears and doubts.  The Nine had spread themselves out around the coliseum in places clear of shrubbery, and the Digidestined walked to their opponents.

Relaina's eyes met Marcus'.  She slowly walked towards him, holding her sword almost casually in her hand.  Gabumon looked at his opponent, Giromon.  "Let's do our best, Relaina," he said.

She nodded in agreement and replied, "That's all we can try to do, old friend."

Alan held the spear slightly nervously as he went to face Killey.  _Oh, boy, why did I even grab a spear?  It seems easier to use than a sword, but can I do it?_  "Relax, Alan!" Veemon said cheerfully.  "Together, I know we can do this!"

He smiled back at the Digimon and loosened his grip on the weapon slightly.  "I hope so" he replied.  "Let's not lose."

Kurai's eyes darted to Sierra's wrists and shoes.  _The way she moves… She has daggers hidden on her._  To her partner she said, "Tsukaimon, teach that pussycat a lesson, will you?"

He agreed, "'Kay, but you better be able to take out that girl.  After all, fair's fair."  She nodded as she drew two daggers from her belt.

The opponent of Shiro was Tatsu, who looked neither nervous nor frightened.  He took out his quarterstaff that had been concealed under his cloak and faced his opponent quietly.  _I can beat him.  Can Monodramon beat GrappLeomon?_  He traded looks with Monodramon.  "This isn't too bad, is it?" the Digimon asked.

"No, it isn't.  We can do this," was his reply.  As he watched Monodramon size up his opponent, he knew that he only had to worry slightly about the outcome of the fight.

_I can do this, right?_ Pixie asked herself as she walked towards Luc.  _It's not something I want to do, but Rime and Phloem are nice people.  We have to try to save them._  She refused to think that it might be impossible to get them out of the dark data.  "Otamamon, are you ready?"

The tadpole Digimon looked up at the humanlike crow.  "As ready as I'll ever be," she responded.  "We have to try for our friends' sake."

"That's right," Pixie agreed as she strung the bow and pulled out an arrow.  _At least I know how to use this._  "After all, Phloem would do the same for us if we were caught in there.  Tapirmon, too."  She did not want to have to hurt someone else, so she did not draw back the arrow.  Luc, who was hardly older than Brian, was apparently in the same predicament.

Sho and SnowAgumon walked towards the ax-wielder, Gen.  "It'll be a hard fight, but not impossible," Sho said to his Digimon.

"True.  But we can win, I think."  SnowAgumon looked over Bulbmon warily.  "Just to make sure we aren't insane… Why are we doing this?"

"Because it will help people.  If we win," he added as an afterthought.  "Let's not disappoint anyone."  He stopped a few feet away from his opponent and stared coldly at him.

Sakura and Salamon were walking towards Tir and WaruSeadramon.  "So, d'ya think that we're going to die?" she asked cheerfully to Salamon as she unsheathed her sword.

Salamon stared up at her intimidating opponent.  "It depends.  It'd be best to work on staying alive; being trapped in that data for too long may make those two need a stay in someplace with padded walls."

"Oh, I thought they already did, but if they don't, we'd better fight to win," she retorted playfully as she stretched a few muscles.  "We'd probably have to go through these lugs to get to the fem-Haven anyway."  Almost everyone had chosen an opponent now.

Magnus walked up to Cleo as Guilmon approached her JewelBeemon.  "Guilmon, JewelBeemon is going to be hard to beat," he warned him.

The Digimon just looked puzzled and cheerful.  "We can do it, Magnus!  We'll win!" he said.

"I hope you're right," Magnus replied as he prepared himself to fight.  "Even with our abilities, I have a feeling that this won't be easy."

Facing Haven and Piximon were Brian and Patamon.  "We're going to do our best to win, right, Patamon?"

The Digimon nodded.  "We can win this fight, I think."

Brian held his sword in a fighting stance.  "I agree.  Let's go!"  He rushed towards Haven to strike the first blow.

The D-Seeds all began to glow at once.

"Losing a good friend is an atrocity!  Gabumon Digivolve to… Garurumon!"

"Whatever the odds, I'll use my strength to win!  Veemon Digivolve to… ExVeemon!"

"I just met my Digidestined; I'm not going to lose her now!  Tsukaimon Digivolve to… BlackGatomon!"

"A being must fight for their beliefs.  Monodramon Digivolve to… Strikedramon!"

"We'll win to save our friends from darkness!  Otamamon Digivolve to… Veedramon!"

"We must fight to help those that need it.  SnowAgumon Digivolve to… IceDevimon!"

"It's more fun to play than to be angry, but I'll still fight!  Salamon Digivolve to… Gatomon!"

"I trust in my friends!  Guilmon Digivolve to… Growlmon!"

"Never give up!  Patamon Digivolve to… Angemon!"

The Digimon had all Digivolved by the time Brian's sword had been blocked by Haven's shield.  All over the coliseum ground, blows were being struck while Lady Haven watched on with a malevolent glint in her eyes, enjoying the view.  Digimon against Digimon, human against human; it was a fight that would decide the path that the future would take.

~**To Be Continued…**~

~**Akugi:** Gundam Wing style~

Rime: *standing on a stage, holding up sign: 'Chibigreen doesn't own 'Gundam Wing.'*  Tatsu-no-Houou mentioned that Tatsu reminded him of Heero from Gundam Wing.  That comment gave Chibigreen a very bad idea, which will now take place for your amusement.  *clears his throat*  Let it begin!  *bows and steps back as the curtains close, and then open again on the other Digidestined*

Tatsu: *in green tank top and black spandex shorts, minus his Cyberdramon wings* …?

Sakura: *in a blue dress* TAAAAAAAATSU!

Tatsu: *winces* Sakura… Don't imitate Relena so well.

Sakura:  Oops… Hehe, sorry.  *sweatdrops*

~Harry Potter style~

Rime: Chibigreen does not own 'Harry Potter,' yada yada yada… *curtains open and close*

Alan: *as Harry* *clutches head* Ack, my scar is hurting!

Vahn: *as Ron* Are you okay, Harry?  Maybe you should go see Dumbledore…

Pixie: *as Hermione* Ron's right.  It is probably a side effect of Voldemort doing something extremely evil that is so evil that only such a stereotypically evil bad guy could do it!

Alan and Vahn: *stare* Huh?

Pixie: Sorry, but that's what my script said.  *looks through the script*  Who wrote this thing?

Rime: *laughs evilly from director's chair*

**Chibigreen's Notes:** Today's subject: Harry Potter and shounen ai.  I really don't have anything against Harry Potter, despite what the akugi is like.  In fact, I like it a lot.  That section on FF.net has good shounen ai, for a non-anime.  It's been the fluffy Weiss Kreuz shounen ai that's been distracting me from writing.  With a cast made mainly of cute angst-filled guys, it's no wonder that many fangirls write many yaoi stories.  Weiss Kreuz is such a cool show, even if it doesn't have shounen ai in it…  That's what FF.net is for!

My muses have gone on a lunch break.  Which leaves me to answer the reviews.  I better save them for my muses' afternoon snacks… 

**Tatsu no Houou** – Your sugar-rush-inspired imagining of Tatsu and Sakura cosplaying as Heero and Relena was quite funny.  I hope that you liked the akugi of it.  ^___^

**Merodi no Megami** – Thank you for reviewing! ^___^ And, about your penname… I believe that 'Merodi no Megami' means 'Goddess of Melody.'  It's 'Megami no Merodi' that means 'Goddess' Melody.

**ChibiSora** – My muses all appreciated the careful aiming of the reviews towards their mouths…I think.  ^___^ 

**PrincessKitty-Chan** – Chibi Rime knew that you were eating chocolate while writing the review because he is a closet chocolate addict.  ^___^  And he's also pretending that you don't exist now because you hit him on the head… I'll get him to apologize soon.  Or Kurai will make him.

**Takeru and Hikari** – I'm glad that you like Phloem's reunion with his parents. ^___^ And, yes, there will be cotton candy-flavored chapters in the future.  Between that and the violent fight scenes I have planned, maybe I should raise the rating…

Feed my muses!  **REVIEW!**


	13. Dark Destroyers Part 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or any of the main characters in this fic except for Rime and Phloem.  I also came up with the idea of 'weremon.'  Most Digimon that appear in this fic I looked up at Sora's Digimon Palace Digidex.

**Note:** This is now rated PG-13 for some mild language and violence. (Basically, next chapter this will be quite a bit more bloody.)

**Chapter 12:** Dark Destroyers (Part 2)

The whole town of Haven was visible, but that should've been impossible.  Unless he was flying…

Feeling light-headed, Phloem tried to move around or change his view, even just slightly.  Nothing happened.  The world looked exactly same.  He gradually realized that he did not feel light-headed – rather, he felt completely light, or made of light, like he did not exist at all.

_I'm data,_ came the sudden realization.  _I am…deleted?_  He remembered falling into the corrupted data.  It could have killed him, but he had a strange feeling that he wasn't dead yet.  He knew that his friends had to be fighting down there somewhere, but if he couldn't focus his vision, he couldn't make sure that it was all going fine.  A thought slapped him then.  It was so obvious; he would have smacked himself…if he had hands.  _Data can't see.  Therefore, I don't focus my vision; I focus my data._  He concentrated on bringing himself together.

Slowly, his form materialized, but it was _not_ solid.  He looked like a ghost; pale and translucent, he could look through his own hand.  At least the 'body' was something that he could use slightly normally.

He looked around himself and wondered where Tapirmon was.  _//Don't worry; I'm here,//_ said a voice in the back of his head.  Beside him, Tapirmon materialized slowly.  He looked just as ghostly as Phloem.  _//We're still alive.  I can feel our main bodies somewhere around here, but I don't know exactly where they are.  /I don't think we can go back into them yet.  I feel like I'm blocked from my body.//_

_//We'll look around.  I still have my empathy, and I can sense Vahn,//_ he sent back to Tapirmon.  _//The others are a different story.  I think that they're shielded.//_

Tapirmon rolled his eyes.  _//I bet you just want to check on Vahn more than the others.  You're probably blocking yourself from sensing them.//_

Phloem blushed and looked abashed.  _//What's that supposed to mean?//_

_//Nothing,//_ thought the Digimon with a mental laugh.  _//Come on; let's go find your…friend.//_ He began to float downwards.  His human partner followed while half-heartedly protesting what Tapirmon had implied.  Floating took enough of an effort that he soon grew quiet.  It was hard work to be half-dead.

********

It was lightless wherever Rime was.  It seemed to stretch into eternity, with no way in or out.  "What the…?" he trailed off.

"We fell into a pool of corrupted data," said Sorcerymon from his side.  "The Tapirmon and his partner are…somewhere else, but here, too.  It's only their spirits that aren't here."  He gestured with his staff into the distance where two bodies were barely visible.

Rime frowned.  "Am I so unclean that the dark data hasn't affected me?"  He'd thought he had been over that bit of self-doubt.

"It's not that.  It's your power.  You can directly change almost all data into practically anything in you touch it, but you can't change the bodies of living things.  All Digimon know the power of their partner," he added at Rime's skeptical look.  "We just don't tell, usually.  Humans get jealous about who has what."

He rolled his eyes.  "I can believe that.  Almost everyone is small-minded now and then."  He looked up at the 'ceiling' of the data-room.  "In that case… Can we get out of here if I change the data?"  Sorcerymon shook his head.

"No.  There's a binding quality to this data."

Rime threw an uncomfortable look at the distant bodies of his friends.  "It wouldn't be right to leave them here anyway.  But," he said as he put his hand in front of him, "I think I can at least see what's going on."  His hand glowed, and a mirror formed at his fingertips.  The reflection of Rime slowly changed to show what was happening in the outside world.

********

"Big Bang Boom!"  Giromon threw a ball of red energy towards Garurumon.  He jumped out of the way just before the attack exploded where he had been standing and counterattacked with blue lightening from his Howling Blaster.  Though the attack had been a powerful one, Giromon was unfazed by it.  A psychotic look came into it's eyes, and it rushed in wielding the chainsaw.  "Chain Saw!" it yelled and continuously swiped with the weapon.  As fast as he was, Garurumon was hard put to dodge all of them.  And by the look of it, Giromon was holding back.

The human partners were also immersed in their own fight.  "Bring it on, little girl!" Marcus said with a sneer as he brought his scythe down in a sweeping moment.  With a clang, Relaina's sword blocked the sweep that would have chopped her in two.  She dodged back before he could pull another dangerous twist of his weapon.

If she had time to step back and get a good sword stance, she may have been able to win.  However, his attack was relentless.  Sweeping, slicing, and spinning, his scythe was relentless in its attack.  She did not even have time to concentrate on telekinesis.  Her fight seemed to mirror her Digimon's.

"CHAIN SAW!" the Giromon shouted and sliced again with its weapon.  This time, it struck, and Garurumon was sent across the ground from the powerful blow.

In the split second that Relaina was distracted by her Digimon's cry of pained surprise, the scythe came sweeping down on her.  She was able to dodge it, but barely.

ExVeemon rashly tried to rush Panjyamon with a Vee Kick.  The lion Digimon dodged and punched ExVeemon it the back to help him crash into the ground.  "You'll never win that way," growled the lion as it focused its energy.  "Ice Beast Fist!"  With the shout, he released a powerful punch in the direction of the grounded Digimon.  A cold, white energy in the shape of a roaring lion's head streamed towards ExVeemon.  He rolled out of the way a second before it hit the ground where he had been.  It froze dirt and grass into ice as hard as rock.

Alan was not faring well, either.  He was a mediocre fighter at best.  Killey, a cold smile on his pale face, had rushed him with the spear.  He was toying with Alan, too, going just slow enough that the boy could dodge his attacks.  Alan gave a yelp of pain as his opponent rapped him on the head with the back end of the spear.  He almost dropped his spear from the sharp pain, but he kept hold of it.  He _did_ lose his balance temporarily, and his out-of-control spear sliced down at Killey.

"Argh!" The spear had left a bleeding, red slash down one side of Killey's face.  He glared with hatred at the boy in front of him, finally breaking his cold visage.  Slowly, he wiped away some of the blood dripping down his chin.  "For that, boy, I will kill you painfully."  He rushed again with the spear, but Alan faded and disappeared.  Killey's pause had given him enough time to set up an illusion.

Several images of Alan appeared around the spearman.  "You'll have to find me first," said the boy's voice from all directions.  Killey let out a string of curses and began to spear the images through one-by-one.  "Why are you fighting for Haven?" Alan asked from nowhere and everywhere as Killey continued his useless attacks.

Killey smiled uncaringly.  "He lets me fight any way I please, and kill however I want," was his unfeeling reply.  His eyes were searching the remaining images of Alan as he tried to figure out which one was real.

ExVeemon went down when an Ice Beast Fist from Panjyamon finally struck him.  All of the Alan-images eyes' moved, but only one's eyes looked in the direction of ExVeemon.

"Now I've got you!" shouted Killey, and he rushed that one, ready to kill.

"This…isn't…good!" BlackGatomon complained loudly as she ran away from the vampire cat after her.  The cat gave a fanged grin under her veil as she slowly caught up.

"Helter Skelter!"  With a burst of speed, Bastemon was in front of Kurai's partner and blocking her.  BlackGatomon backed up, hissing and ears flattened.  Bastemon only smirked and began to dance.  "Vampire Dance."  The hypnotic dance began to make BlackGatomon want to lay down and take a nap.

Her eyes fluttered shut, and opened, and began to close again.  "Can't…fall…asleep," muttered the black cat.  She fought bravely against the urge that the hazy shadowed dancing gave her, but her opponent just continued swaying slowly to her own rhythm, coming closer with every step.

Kurai and Sierra were standing still.  Both were sizing up their opponent with no visible emotion.  "If you give up now, I won't have to kill you."

"I was about to say the same to you," retorted Kurai.  She drew one of the daggers that were now strapped around her waist.  "I guess I don't have a choice," she said, and then she teleported to get behind the older girl.  But then she felt a push, and she fell out of the teleport in the same place she had begun.

Sierra had her own daggers in her hands now.  They were of the small Japanese type known as kunai.  "I warned you," she said sadly.  "I can control teleportation.  And now, you die."  She flung two kunai at Kurai.

She rapidly sidestepped and ducked, but one still grazed her shoulder.  "I don't think I'm dead yet," she retorted.

"Hmm."  Sierra regarded the edge of one of her kunai.  "No, I suppose not.  However, either you die, or your Digimon dies.  There's no two ways about it."  Under her breath, she added, "It's not like I want to kill you.  I'm sorry."  Charging the younger girl, she prepared to release her weapons once more.

Strikedramon and GrappLeomon faced off, silently judging the strengths and weaknesses of each other.  The Ultimate attacked first.  "Lion King Beast Killing Wave!" he shouted as he launched himself towards the Champion.  Strikedramon only just dodged the attack of GrappLeomon and tried to retaliate with a Strike Claw.  GrappLeomon's armor easily withstood it, and he kicked Strikedramon in the gut.  Strikedramon jumped back, breathing hard, as he desperately tried to regain his breath and ignore the pain in his stomach.

At the same time, Shiro smiled energetically as he and Tatsu began to fight.  He kept on smiling even as Tatsu's quarterstaff blocked each of his punches.  "Don't you just love fighting?" the older man asked as he punched at Tatsu's head.  It stopped his punch, but only because Shiro was not punching at his full strength.

"Do I?" Tatsu returned quietly.  He didn't mind the break that his opponent was giving him.  His connection with Strikedramon was making him feel every bit of pain that the Digimon was.

Shiro bounced on the heels of his feet like a boxer just getting warmed up.  "How should I know?  But I do!"  He did a couple of weak punches to keep the teen busy.  They were blocked, as he had planned them to be.  Getting the fight over with while it was still interesting was not his objective.  "You sure are one weird kid, though.  You act like you can see everything, and you have bandages over your eyes."

"So, you fight for Haven because you have fun fighting?" mused Tatsu as he blocked another strike.  He was carefully not showing any pain that he felt because of Strikedramon's own battle.

That made Shiro laugh.  "Of course not!" he declared.  "I'm part of the Dark Destroyers!  It's our job to root out opposition to the Emperor!"

"If you'd done your job right, Haven would not be alive right now!" Tatsu retorted as he swung his quarterstaff towards Shiro's head.

A fierce, defensive punch broke his staff in two.  "What the hell do you mean?"  A fiercely serious look had replaced Shiro's energetic one.

Grimly, Tatsu clutched the two staff pieces in his hand.  He would have to fight or explain, or possibly both.  It all depended on Shiro.

Flapping his black wings, Karatenmon carefully stayed a safe distance away from Veedramon.  "Hey, come down here and fight like a Digimon, you coward!" the former Otamamon shouted at the out-of-reach Ultimate.

"No," he replied simply.  He kept one eye on his partner and one eye on Veedramon.

Veedramon fumed.  "I thought that you wanted to fight!"

Karatenmon flicked a wingtip at him in an insulting manner.  "Not unless Luc does."  That left Veedramon on the ground, grumbling.

Pixie and Luc both had their bows drawn and aimed at each other, yet neither was shooting.  "This is useless," Luc said to her even as he kept on aiming.  "Bows aren't good to duel with."

She would have rolled her eyes, but she knew that she needed to keep her aim steady.  "You just don't want to fight, do you?  Why?"

His eyes glowed with a strange knowledge.  "If I don't kill you, there is, at least, some hope in the future for this world."

"What?  Don't you serve the Havens?"

He frowned.  "I am like a black crow, an omen of bad news.  I am gifted with a curse, the curse to see the future.  I am only seventeen, and yet I am part of the Dark Destroyers because of the usefulness of my curse.  It is my duty to work, not only for the Emperor, but for the people that need protection from beings of the night."  His voice took on a strange tone.  "Remember this, Pixie Sugienna, Bearer of Light: The darkness can be stronger than it seems, and darkness grows blacker when it is concealed from the light.  However, light of any color can banish the darkness.  If the light is always shining, the dark can never return."

She narrowed her eyes.  That was the strangest thing that had happened to her since getting her D-Seed.  "What do you mean?"

Luc blinked sleepily and said, "I don't know."  He continued in his normal voice, "It's just my power.  I don't have much control over it.  Regretfully, I know that we have to fight now.  I won't use the bow, I promise.  This fight will be mental."  He used his second power to enter her mind.

She dropped the bow and arrow with a clatter as her fingers went slack.  Karatenmon took that as the signal to draw his daggers and dive-bomb Veedramon.

There were some Digimon that were just strange and frightening to see.  One of those was Bulbmon.  Still, IceDevimon faced it without too much worry.  Something as bulky as it was would have difficult maneuvering very quickly.  It was just his bad luck that Bulbmon did not need to move quickly to attack quickly.  "Mad Pump!"  One of Bulbmon's arms rocketed towards IceDevimon.  He flew out of its path, and it drew back to reattach to its silent owner.

IceDevimon countered with his own attack.  "Zero Freeze!"  Spreading from his wings, the icy chill froze everything that it touched.  Even Bulbmon's arms began to freeze over, and for a moment, IceDevimon hoped that it had worked.  One sweep of Bulbmon's arms cleared away both his hopes and all of the ice.  It launched another attack on IceDevimon, and he plummeted when it clipped his right wing.

A clang rang out as Gen's ax blade met Sho's sword.  The ax was stronger, and it screeched along the sword's edge and chipped it.  A dark humor glinted in Gen's eyes.  "You're all just a bunch of traitors, aren't you?" he taunted.

As usual, Sho did not reply.  _It'd only be a waste of breath._

"You're probably the reason that Prince Rime died!" Gen accused as he swung his ax again.

Sho slipped out of the way and slashed at Gen's arm, but he, too, dodged.  "He's not dead, you fool."  The Havens were manipulating the 'great' Dark Destroyers so easily and obviously.

Gen roared, "You're lying!" as he took another heavy swipe at Sho.  He blocked it again with his sword, but another dent was created in the blade.  A crack began to form near the hilt.

It was then that Sho realized that Gen's strength was not natural.  It was his ability, just like Sho's was healing.

WaruSeadramon was snapping at Gatomon like a shark going for a fish.  He had gone in the coliseum's only lake, and to attack him, she had to approach the water.  Attack after attack exploded right behind her as she ran.  She had not been able to attack him yet, but she hadn't been hit, either.  Unless she tired, Gatomon's fight would remain at a stalemate.

Tir was also attacking angrily and continuously.  He was forcing Sakura to lose ground as she backed up to parry the strikes of his glaive.  "I know all about what you people are trying to do," he said with a maniacal grin as he thrust the blade towards her.  "And I couldn't care less!  If all of humanity was destroyed, everyone would be better off!"  He punctuated that with a strike towards her neck.  She had to duck to dodge it.

"You're crazy," she said flatly.

He smiled dangerously.  "Yes, I know.  And I'm getting bored, too.  Let's end this more quickly, okay?"  Then he was covered with fire.  It burned from his skin and weapon.  The fire, though it was bright and hot, did not burn him.  "Did you know that being burned hurts?" he said conversationally as he launched at her.  She tried to block him with the sword, but it was hard to get too close to him because of the intense heat.  Strangely, Sakura began to grin.

Then Sakura was a Meramon.  "Two can play at this game," she said as she prepared to fight fire with fire.

Growlmon was obviously not a match for the smaller JewelBeemon.  The insectoid Digimon was much stronger than he was, yet it was curiously not doing much in the way of harming Growlmon.  It was just holding him off; it darted around the dinosaur Digimon's bulky body and effectively kept him in one area by using its spear to prod him.  To Growlmon, it felt like he was in his Guilmon form while being stung by a wasp.  He glared at the annoying pest bothering him and tried to chomp it, but he never even came close.  Annoyed, he swung his tail around in a futile effort to catch it.

Magnus had to make himself not pay attention to his Digimon and instead focus on his opponent, Cleo.  Both of them had their guns out.  Guns do not go off with a pop or a soft bang.  They make a sound more like thunder that follows a particularly close strike of lightening.  That was the sound that was being made repeatedly as the two of them fired at each other.  He had had to drop the shield he'd picked up, but he'd purposely made it look like an accident.  In reality, he knew that he might have to use his knife to attack her, and the shield might become useful then.

He was behind a tree; Cleo was behind a boulder.  Both of them had slightly hit each other a single time.  His right arm and the side of her head had been grazed by the opposite's bullets.  He had shot to kill, but he had been trained to do that.  Magnus was worried about the others, but right now he had something else to worry about.  Cleo's shots were getting quicker and closer; the side of the tree was being reduced to splinters.  On top of that, he had only one shot left.  _I might as well make it count,_ he thought, and he pocketed the gun.  It could be used later.

Magnus drew his knife and went for his shield.  His power manifested as he began to move faster and more surely.  The bullets fired by Cleo seemed to move in slow motion in his state, and he easily dodged three on his way.  Then the firing stopped, and he noted that Cleo had put her gun away and drew a short sword.  In less time then he had to react, she was rushing towards him, the sword being held steadily at her side.  _What's this?_ he thought with alarm.  He blocked her first swing, but a quick second slashed across his left arm.  It became much harder to hold the shield as the pain and blood almost made him drop it.

It was obvious that she also had her own powers.  "Sorry about that," Cleo told him sincerely, "but I need to do my duty."

"Even if it's wrong?" he asked with a wince.  It hadn't been a deep cut, but it _hurt_.

She stared at him with unreadable eyes.  "I know it's wrong, but I took an oath that I would fight for my Emperor…no matter what!"  And she attacked again.

A hard-eyed Piximon swung his through the air.  "PSI BOMB!"  The golden energy fired towards Angemon, and he was too slow to do anything about it.  However, he was able to keep flying, even if he was clutching his side in pain.

Desperately, he counter-attacked.  "Hand of Fate!"  It hit the smaller Digimon, but Piximon did not even flinch.

"You're too weak, Angemon.  I will help my partner do whatever he wants to!"  The raging pink angel continued his attack relentlessly.

Lord Haven waited as Brian attacked and let his shield take the blow.  "You're too weak," he said as he threw Brian back with a push of his sword.  "It is an emperor's duty to rule, but it is the generals' duties to be the emperor's strength.  I am stronger than all of the generals, and that is why I deserve to rule."

Brian got up and again rushed forward.  "Liar!" he accused as the shield once again blocked his sword.  This time, he jumped back before he could be thrown.  "You're just doing it because it's what the false Lady Haven wants!  She's not even a true human!"

"She's my wife!" Haven roared.  His sword made a graceful, powerful arc through the air, but Brian blocked.  Their swords were locked together.

A revelation occurred to Brian.  _He knows she's fake, but he doesn't care.  Crap!_  "You're destroyed the lives of the people!" he accused instead of trying to persuade Haven.  "They don't need a ruler like you."  The swords clanged together and pulled apart.  Metal flashed dangerously through the air.

"They don't need a ruler like Rime, either!  Why do you stand up for him?"

"I don't stand up for _him_.  He's changed, but that's not it!" he protested vehemently.  He went for another attack, but suddenly, Haven was _gone_.

He heard a chuckle behind him.  "You'll never win," Haven said.  "I can teleport, just like your friend, the thief."  Brian could practically feel the sword going for his neck.  Then, he realized that it hadn't happened _yet_.  He ducked and rolled just as the sword flashed over him.  _Let's see how his teleportation stands up against clairvoyance!_  He might win after all.  He hoped that they were all having success in their battles, but a nagging worry told him that he needed to take care of his Digimon.  But how was he supposed to do that when he was fighting himself?  He dodged again as Haven teleported and attacked.

********

There was banging on the door.  "Let us in!"  Vahn was in the main room of the inn alone.  The Greenhills were all downstairs, where he had told them to stay for their own safety.  _I hope that Phloem's all right,_ he thought as he calmly opened the door.

"Can I help you?" he said tranquilly.  They stared at him, unnerved to see him so calm in front of them.  They certainly looked angry and rugged, so they were most likely used to people being scared of them.

When they had regained their poise, one growled, "Where's the Greenhill family?  They're under arrest."  Vahn hardly paid them attention.  Instead, he was detachedly noting that each of the four guards had a Minotarumon.  Whether they were at the Champion level or the Ultimate level did not matter to him.

He smiled.  "I'm sorry, but I can't let you pass."

"Kid, you'd better get out of our way!"  One tried to shove past him.  It was a big mistake on the guard's part.  He casually used the human part of his powers to shoot a lightening bolt at the guard.  It was easily powerful enough to stun him and knock him unconscious.

Now Vahn showed some anger.  "You're all fools," he said to the other guards with an angry set to his mouth.  "By the looks of you, you enjoy intimidating people, but you can't even handle your own emotions."  They looked at him with shock, anger, and fear mixing in their eyes just before he swiftly knocked them out with three more thunderbolts.  Now he only had the four Digimon to contend with.

The three angry bulls rushed him at once, expecting to easily crush the young 'human.'  Vahn transformed, and the very aura of his Lucemon body made them stop in their places.  The light he gave off was comparable to that of the moon and stars combined.  He called out his attack, "Grand Cross!"  The shining cross hit them, and they were immediately deleted.

He sighed.  He didn't like deleting Digimon, though he knew that they'd come back while their partners were still alive.  However, he'd had to so that Phloem's family would be all right.

Suddenly, he found himself being hugged by both of Phloem's little sisters.  "Wow!" said one.  He thought it might be Style.  "That was so cool!"

"It was," agreed Stigma.  "And Vahn's so cute-"

"Whether he's human or not.  No wonder Phloem likes him!"

Vahn blushed.  "He does?" he asked hopefully.

Stigma and Style rolled their eyes.  "It's _so_ obvious," they said as one.

The first one said, "Now go and find him!  We can protect ourselves while you're gone."

"It's more important that you find Phloem right now and help out him and his friends," said Stigma.

"Because they might need your help!" finished Style.  Both twins stepped back, and a Kiwimon was behind them.  He recognized it as their Floramon.

He nodded.  "I understand.  Take care of yourselves!"  He spread his twelve wings and lifted from the ground.  Soon, he was no longer visible from the inn.

To the side, Stigma told Style, "We have it easy, compared to them.  At least Kiwimon can Digivolve to Ultimate.  Do you think they'll make it?"  Like they usually were, they were completely serious with each other.  The happiness they showed around others was sometimes just an act to cheer everyone up.

"I think so, but it won't be too easy," Style agreed dubiously.  "They're having a hard time against the Havens; can't you feel it?"  Kiwimon and Stigma nodded.  The twin's empathy was informing them of just how the fighters were doing.  What worried them the most was the black aura that covered the entire background of the city.  It seemed to be connected to, but not stemming from, the weremon who had replaced Lady Haven.

~**To Be Continued…**~

**Chibigreen's Notes:** Oops… This was out days after my two-week standard for updating.  Why?  It involves a small surgery and the fact that stitches in an elbow joint can hurt… And homework.  Lots of homework. _ Anyway, besides that, I'm happy!  Personally, I think that this story is getting cliché-ish, but if it works… *shrugs*  I'll be happy enough to get past the fighting scene.  (Only one more chapter of that!  Yay!)  This is all getting a bit confusing for me, so I put up charts here.  It links out to the Digidestined from this story and the Dark Destroyers, too.  Basically, the information listed is their name, their Digimon, their ability (if they have one), and their weapon.  For the Digidestined, it also lists the D-Seed color.  This is for anyone that feels like the characters are confusing.  Though, I have to warn you – I wrote the whole web site in third person.  So instead of "I," I say "Chibigreen."  Just call me insane.

Rime: Talking about insane, about all the weapons in this chapter: Do you know how many possibly sexual references you missed?

Chibigreen: *stares, wide-eyed*  I only do fluff!!! And WAFF.

Rime: Too bad.

Chibigreen: Hentai angst muse…

Rime: I'm a muse.  You can't stop me.  Speaking of that, I have another idea…

Chibigreen: AH!  NO!  NO MORE IDEAS!!!  (Too many stories to finish!!!)  Er… I'll just reply to some reviews now…  It's just a quick one 'cause I need to get working on the next chapter in my Fushigi Yuugi/Harry Potter crossover.

Thanks for reviewing: **Merodi no Megami**, **Steel Knight** (It was corny, I know.), **Tatsu-no-Houou** (Sure, I'll include it!), **PrincessKitty-Chan** (Foreshadowing?  I did foreshadowing? *looks the chapter over* Oh, I did!), **ChibiSora** (I tried to update sooner.  School can be a problem, though.), **Takeru and Hikari** (Sorry for that cliffhanger bit!  They're just fun to write!), and **Red Wolf** (It's nice to hear from you again!).

Rime: You'll _like_ this idea… *smirks*

Chibigreen: Gah!  Haven't you heard of 'no free time'?!  (Too much homework!!!)

Rime: Heh.  No me importa.

Chibigreen: …Rime just spoke Spanish…Gah!  Spanish homework!  ¡No la recuerdo!

Feed my muses!  **REVIEW!**


	14. Dark Destroyers Part 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or any of the main characters in this fic except for Rime and Phloem.  I also came up with the idea of 'weremon.'  Most Digimon that appear in this fic I looked up at Sora's Digimon Palace Digidex.

**Chapter 13:** Dark Destroyers (Part 3)

Phloem spotted Vahn flying below him towards the castle where all of the fighting was taking place.  Swiftly, he sent his spirit-body down until he reached his friend. _//Vahn!//_ he called, and Vahn glanced towards him.  The Lucemon-weremon nearly tumbled in his flight when he saw the 'ghosts' of Phloem and Tapirmon.  Phloem smiled reassuringly.  _//Don't worry; I'm fine.//_

Vahn looked dubious, but hopeful.  "You look like a ghost," he said.  "Are you sure that you're not dead?"

_//He's not,//_ Tapirmon said firmly.  _//We were just temporarily separated from our bodies.//_

"How did that happen?"

Phloem smiled and shrugged.  _//I don't know.  It's good to see that you're okay.  I was worried about you.//_

A light blush spread over Vahn's face.  "I was worried about you, too."  His eyes met Phloem's.

Amused, Tapirmon watched them gaze at each other for a moment before mentally coughing to get their attention.  _//I'm sure that right now would be the perfect moment for you two to get mushy, but our friends are still in danger.//_  He hated to break into their little moment, even if their friends' lives were on the line.

Phloem blushed.  _//I almost forgot!//_ he exclaimed.  _//I'll check up on how they're doing.//_  He extended his sixth sense into the distance.  A wave of emotions from the fighters hit him.  _PainCourageAngerFearHopeHateWorryDespairSadnessLoyaltyFaithDesperationLove._  It filled his mind; he couldn't think at all.  He felt like he was being torn apart; like his very being was being ripped into.  He let out a mental scream of agony.

"No!  Phloem!" Vahn yelled when he saw Phloem's spirit convulse in pain.  The scream in his mind was so painful.  "What's happening?!"

Tapirmon began to glow.  _//His spirit is being torn apart by their strong emotions.  Without his body to anchor it, their feelings are tearing him into pieces.  I'll make sure that his soul isn't destroyed.//_  As he said that, Phloem's spirit split into several small spheres and shot off towards his friends.  Tapirmon's spirit soon followed him.

"Tapirmon?  Phloem?!"  Desperately, he sped off in the direction that the spirit orbs had.  _'Don't die on me!'_ he silently pleaded as flew.

********

Sweat trickled down Relaina's face, but she didn't allow herself to be distracted.  Marcus was too quick with his scythe to ignore for even a moment.  But a worry tugged on her heart as she felt and saw Garurumon get hurt.  The Ultimate-level Giromon was just too strong for a Champion to handle.  _'If only he could Digivolve… If only I had the strength to help him.'_

A voice inside of her answered, _'You do.'_  The voice was somehow familiar, but it was also different… like it wasn't part of her mind.

_'No, I don't,'_ she replied as she dodged another strike from the scythe.

_'Yes, you do,'_ the voice insisted.  _'It's all inside you… Use your D-Seed to give it to Garurumon.'_

_'But… how?  I don't know how!'_  And suddenly, she did.  A fierce grin appeared on her face.  "I'm going to win!" she announced with surety, and then she began to attack Marcus with renewed energy.  Her D-Seed glowed brightly.  _'Garurumon!  I really do care about you, my best friend.  We'll win together.'_

Alan watched from behind the rock as Killey speared the last illusion through.  _'He'll see me next, and then I'll die,'_ he thought despondently.  _'But I've been hiding, while ExVeemon…'_ ExVeemon let out a cry of pain as another of Panjyamon's attacks hit it.  _'He's so injured, but I can't do anything!'_

Another voice spoke up inside of him.  _'You can!  Don't give up!'_

He was so worried that he didn't notice that it wasn't _his_ thought.  _'If I could win my fight, it would help ExVeemon win his.  If he could win his, I could win mine'_

'If you fought, maybe you could win,' the voice interjected. 

He attributed it to an overactive conscience, but he still paid attention.  _'I don't want this to be an unfair fight.  If I… If I managed to kill him that way, I'd feel guilty about it for sure.  But he's stronger, so…'_

His 'conscience' sounded semi-annoyed.  _'You're the smart one.  Don't be backhanded about it, but _distract_ him!'_

_'I must be insane,'_ he decided as he stood up.  _'Otherwise, this wouldn't be happening.'_  "Hey, Killey, I'm over here!" he shouted at the man who been staring in surprise at the empty space where the illusion had stood.  Killey had really thought that the last illusion would be the real Alan.

"I'm going to kill you, pipsqueak!" Killey shouted in frustration and rushed towards Alan.

_'I can do this,'_ Alan thought as he nervously held a defensive stance.  _'I have to.'_

The voice in his head seemed amused.  _'Of course you'll do it.  And you can help ExVeemon win at the same time…'_

Alan was about to say that he didn't know how, but out of nowhere, he understood what he needed to do.  He focused on giving ExVeemon energy, and his D-Seed burst into light as Killey came closer.  The bright light made him lose his concentration, and…

Kurai hastily dodged dagger after dagger that Sierra threw.  The twisting, jumping, and flipping that she was pulling off was making her muscles ache.  _'I hope I can pull this off.'_

_'You can win,'_ said an inner voice with complete certainty.

She winced as a slow reaction allowed a dagger to slice open her arm.  She kept on dodging despite the pain.  _'Yeah, right.  How am I supposed to do _that_?'_

_'Fight _with_ BlackGatomon.  Act like partners.  Synchronize.'_  That made no sense at first, but then…

_'Synchronize?  I think I understand.'_  She glanced at BlackGatomon, who was recovering from the hypnosis that Bastemon had put her under.  She was jumping around quickly to dodge any attack.  _'If I teleport rapidly, she can't control my jumps.  Just like BlackGatomon's jumping is getting her closer to the enemy.'_  Kurai smiled grimly and prepared for a final attack.  The knowledge of how to help BlackGatomon came into her mind.  _'I know what to do now.'_  Her D-Seed began to glow.

Tatsu dodged Shiro's punch and struck back at him with one of the halves of the staff.  It didn't land a blow, and the battle was back to a stalemate.  Neither could make a move that the other couldn't dodge or counter, and it seemed that Tatsu was actually worse off.  Strikedramon was definitely picking up more damage than GrappLeomon.

_'How can I win this fight?'_ Tatsu wondered as yet another blow missed its target.  Pain from Strikedramon's injuries was slowing him down.  It was becoming harder to dodge.  _'If I lose…'_ There was so much he hadn't told Sakura; so many secrets he now regretted keeping.

An inner voice spoke up.  _'Do you have wings or not?'_  He tried to explain that it wouldn't be fair and that he'd be fighting on unequal ground.  One part of him wondered why he was arguing with himself.  _'Is it fair that you're fighting with a wooden weapon while _he's _fighting with a metal one?'_

The voice had a point there, Tatsu conceded.  However, he knew that he wasn't able to use the wings to fly.  The wings were there because of his bond with Strikedramon, but Strikedramon had not evolved far enough yet for the wings to be more than eerie ornamentation for Tatsu.

_'I can help you with that!  Just don't give up!'_  His D-Seed's bright light made Shiro pause for just a second in his fight.  That was enough time for Tatsu to throw off his cloak and spread his Cyberdramon wings to their full extent.

Pixie struggled in the confines of her own mind.  To her, it appeared that she had been stuck in a round white room with no way out.  She pounded futilely against the walls, but nothing happened.  Her mental body's 'hands' felt sore and transparent from pounding against the confining substance that kept her captive.  She started in surprise when she felt another presence intrude.

Her eyes widened at the sight of a _very_ ghostly Phloem and Tapirmon.  "What…?"

"I'm here to help," he explained.  "Pixie, you can still win this fight."

"But-" She gestured helplessly at the walls around her.  "I can't break them."

He sighed.  "Yes, you can," he said with exasperation.  "Your strong point is your mind, your telepathy.  Use it."

She looked at her aching hands.  "I don't have enough strength left," she said quietly.  "There's no way I can win or help Veedramon to win."

Phloem smiled mysteriously.  "Yes, there is," he said simply.  "Put your mind into the D-Seed, and the rest will come out fine.  He might be able to block your control of your body, but a mind can never be destroyed so easily."  She hesitated for only a moment, but then she reached out with her mind _past_ the confinement and mentally touched her Digivice.  The walls cracked; she was back in control of her body.

Inside her mind and out of her knowledge, the spirit of Phloem began to slowly disperse as the D-Seed glowed.

The colossal strength of Gen and Bulbmon was slowly wearing away at Sho and IceDevimon.  _'We can't keep this up,'_ he realized with a dark certainty.

A too-cheerful voice spoke in his head.  _'Yes, you can!'_  It was Phloem, but Sho didn't know that.  He grimly blocked the ax again, but his sword was truly beginning to break now.

_'I can see myself winning any second now,'_ Sho thought sarcastically.  If IceDevimon could evolve, then neither of them would win.  _'But I wish that I could at least help my partner.  He is closer to me than anyone else.'_

'You do have the power to win,' the voice said stubbornly.  'Just try!'  With nothing else to lose, Sho did… and was surprised to feel himself re-energized.  His D-Seed burst into light. 

Even as a Meramon, Sakura was slightly burned by Tir's fire.  _'I guess I'm too tired to hold up against him,'_ she thought as his flaming glaive clashed with her metal one.  Then he knocked her back, and she landed in her normal form – that is, a girl with Gatomon ears and a Gatomon's tail.

"What kind of freak are you?" he said venomously as he attacked her while she was still down.  She hastily rolled out of the way as the glaive pierced the ground where she had been.

She didn't reply.  _'Am I going to die?'_

_'Don't give up,'_ said a quiet, but sure, voice inside her head.  _'You have the power to win.  You have the power to help Gatomon defeat WaruSeadramon.'_

_'How?'_ she wondered.

_'Your own will… Or, perhaps, a miracle.'_  Light came from the top of her D-Seed, and strong energy coursed through her body.  She got up, suddenly refreshed.

Magnus's fight with Cleo was a stalemate.  For every injury one gave the other, the other got back with something just as bad.  They stepped back from each other for a moment to catch their breath.  _'Not too bad… I'm not sure whether I'll win or lose.'_

_'What about Growlmon?  Can he win against JewelBeemon?'_ asked a voice inside of him.  Magnus couldn't answer.  _'You can help him.  He can win.  You can win,'_ the voice continued with surety.

He was about to ask how, but then, he knew.  His eyes shining with new hope and energy, he prepared to attack Cleo one last time.  "Are you ready?" he asked.

She nodded, and they both brought up their swords.  As he rushed towards him, adrenaline pumping through his veins, his D-Seed began to glow and new energy filled him.

Brian slashed again at Haven, and Haven again teleported out of the way.  Neither was winning or losing.  Every time Brian predicted where Haven was, Haven would teleport, and Brian's hit would miss.  At least his precognition was preventing Brian from being hit also.

_'I need to win soon,'_ Brian thought desperately as he sensed Piximon slowly gaining an edge over Angemon.  _'He won't last if I don't.'_

A calm voice spoke up in his mind.  _'You can win.  He can win.  Have faith.'_

_'But how?'_ he asked it as there was another clash of swords.

_'Believe…'_ The voice became softer, but Brian felt strength fill him.  He knew what to do now, he realized as his D-Seed lit up.

Vahn looked around the scene below him desperately.  His Lucemon body easily floated in midair, and though the Lady Haven watched him, she did nothing.  He couldn't see Phloem _or_ Tapirmon.  _'Where are they?  Are they dead?  I hope not…'_

A clear voice spoke inside of him.  _'I'm inside of you and everyone.'_

It had been Phloem's voice!  _'Are you dead?!'_  Worry filled him.

Phloem thought, _'No, but I soon might be…'_  Then the D-Seeds of every Digidestined began to radiate a pure golden light.  _'This… This is taking to much energy on me…'_  The mental voice sounded strained.

Suddenly, Tapirmon's thoughts intruded on Vahn's worried ones.  _'Use the link with the part of Phloem in your mind to send out energy!  Hurry!'_

_'But if I release energy through him, then… He could die from an overload, Tapirmon!'_ Vahn thought at the presence in his mind.

_'He'll die if you don't!'_ Tapirmon retorted with worry and strain.  _'Do it!'_

Hesitantly, Vahn released all of his power through the link that Tapirmon showed him.  The Lucemon's natural golden aura grew even brighter as the holy energy relieved some of the strain on Phloem's split spirit…  It had very nearly disappeared from the strain of giving each Digidestined enough power to let their Digimon Digivolve.  The new energy brought the soul back from the brink of fading away for good.

With the new power, the Digimon also blazed with a golden light as they Digivolved.

"Garurumon Digivolve to… WereGarurumon!  Wolf Claw!"  WereGarurumon jumped up towards the machine Digimon, ready to attack.

"ExVeemon Digivolve to… Paildramon!  Desperado Blaster!"

"BlackGatomon Digivolve to… LadyDevimon!"  By now, the former cat Digimon had gotten to point-blank range.  "Darkness Wave!"

"Strikedramon Digivolve to… Cyberdramon!"  The two android Digimon clashed.  "Desolation Claw!"

"Veedramon Digivolve to… AeroVeedramon!  V-Wing Blade!"  AeroVeedramon flew into the air, finally able to come close to Karatenmon in _his_ element.

"IceDevimon Digivolve to… BlueMeramon!  Cold Flame!"  The blue flame instantly overwhelmed Bulbmon.

"Gatomon Digivolve to… Angewomon!"  She instantly formed her own attack.  "Celestial Arrow!"

"Growlmon Digivolve to… WarGrowlmon!  Atomic Blaster!"

 "Angemon Digivolve to… MagnaAngemon!"  He drew his glowing sword.  "Excalibur!"__

All of the newly-Digivolved Digimon used a powerful attack and blew the opposing one away.  There were only mere trickles of digital data left.

Relaina's sword cut through Marcus's scythe and pierced his neck.  Blood sprayed from the severed artery, and his eyes turned blank in death.  She coldly cleaned her sword on the grass near his body before sheathing it.

Alan and Killey both looked surprised as Killey, having been distracted by the Digivolutions of the Digimon and the destruction of Panjyamon, found his chest pierced by Alan's spear.  He numbly grasped the end of the bloody spear and pulled it out, faintly surprised as he passed out.  Air hissed through the wound.  Alan took one look at the still body in front of him and was violently sick.

Kurai threw one of her own daggers straight at Sierra.  The older girl blocked it with her own arm, and the dagger pierced straight through the flesh.  "I yield," Sierra said sadly as she looked at where Bastemon had been destroyed.  "You have won."  Kurai stared at her in surprise as tears ran down her face in tiny rivulets.

Tatsu flew up into the sky and awkwardly dove down with his broken staff.  There was a brief clash with Shiro, and then Shiro's body fell down with his neck twisted unnaturally.  But he was still alive.  Tatsu, now on the ground again, looked at the pitiful sight of the half-dead body.  It would be a mercy to kill him in the condition that he was in, but, out of battle, Tatsu wasn't sure if he was up to killing Shiro.

Pixie looked at Luc with confusion.  She was still unarmed; he still had his bow and arrows.  The boy sighed and dropped his bows and arrows before holding his hands up in the air.  "There's nothing else I can do.  You've won."  He heaved another sigh.  "I just wish that Karatenmon did not have to suffer for it."

Sho's sword clashed again with Gen's ax, and this time the sword finally broke.  The main part of it flew through the air and pierced through Gen's right eye.  It was a freak accident, but blood still poured out as Gen fell over in death.

Sakura ducked under Tir's burning glaive and slashed him with her family's sword with as much strength as she could.  He let out a gasp of surprise, his flame dying out, as the sword split him in half from his chest to his gut.  He let out one rattling breathe before his soul left his body.  Sakura turned away, looking pale and shaken, from her fallen foe.

Magnus disarmed Cleo by twisting her sword away between his shield and his knife.  He held the knife to her neck.  "Do you give up?"

She met his eyes defiantly.  "I'll never give up, though I will no longer fight you."  She looked over at the now-fallen body of the Lord Haven.  "There is no need."

Brian's sword had beheaded him.  The sight of the head separated from the body was not one that Magnus wished to ever see again.

Magnus took the knife away from Cleo's throat.  "Your death would have been needless in any case," he said as he sheathed it.

Sho didn't want to admit it, but the feel of so much death and pain around him was making him sick.  _'It must be that healing power of mine,'_ he decided, so he let the power free.

In a tranquil, wave-like blue, green, and gold light, it spread across the ground and over all of the living in the castle.  Whatever power had not been used for the Digimon to Digivolve went into the healing.  Shiro's broken neck straightened itself; the hole in Killey's lung healed.  Whatever injury, no matter how small, the Digidestined had, it instantly sealed itself and vanished.

It was nice to be able to help like that, Sho decided as he looked around at the results.

Vahn watched from above as Lady Haven looked at the results of the battle and screamed in rage.  "Digidestined!  I will kill _you_ for killing my husband!" she shouted, and then she transformed into the spider form of Arukenimon.  Beside her, the illusion of Piximon faded and the Bakemon Digivolved to Phantomon, and they prepared to leap down upon the Digidestined and attack.

"Grand Cross!" he called out, and he used whatever power he had left to stop Arukenimon from hurting his friends.  She was blown back, and Phantomon was completely destroyed.

The Digidestined looked up at him as he floated down to the ground, and they all walked away from their opponents and towards him as he landed near the hole that held the corrupted data.  "Hello," he said, his eyes focused on where Arukenimon had been.  She had already disappeared.  "The false Lady Haven is gone, but I don't think she will be back anytime soon."  He sighed with relief.  "It's over… for now."

Bits and pieces of light came out of everyone and formed into two separate balls that hovered over the hole where Phloem, Tapirmon, Sorcerymon, and Rime had fallen in.  There was a flash of light, and then the hole was gone.  Where it had been, the four who had fallen were standing.

Phloem blinked in surprise.  "I'm back together again."

"You're also," Rime said dryly, "in your body again.  Do you know how creepy it was to be stuck in that corrupted data with your body?"

"Do you know how easy you had it down there?" Phloem countered.

"Easy?  Do you call seeing every single one of your friends caught in a fight to the death _easy_?  I couldn't even do anything to help when Kurai…" He turned red and corrected himself.  "When they _all _looked like they were going to die."

"But we won," Phloem interjected with a smile around the coliseum.

"They won," he agreed, "but what are we going to do about the Dark Destroyers who are still alive?"

Someone cleared his or her throat, and everyone looked towards Cleo.  She was standing with Sierra and Luc, as well as with Shiro and Killey, who were still unconscious.  "We're going to be leaving.  For now, we have no more business with you.  We may yet meet again."  Her eyes widened slightly for a moment in surprise, and then she continued evenly, "In fact, I'm almost sure we will."  Then they began to glow red, green, blue, gold, and white, and they disappeared.

Brian spoke up.  "This leaves a lot unsolved, but we've accomplished something, at least.  We didn't lose, and now Rime can be the emperor."

"It's not over yet," Tapirmon said flatly.  "We're just getting a small break."  He looked worried.

Vahn turned back into his human self and put an arm around Phloem's shoulders.  Phloem blushed, but looked happy.  "We can take the small break, then," Vahn said.  "Why don't we go tell the townspeople that the Haven's are gone?  I'm sure that they'd be more than happy to hear it."

It was a happy, but proud, group that left the coliseum.  Not a few glanced back with an uneasy feeling at the bodies that they had left behind, but Tapirmon was the only one to look with concern at the spot where the dark data had been.  "Sometimes, history repeats itself," he said softly to himself as he hung back behind the rest.  "But it's not the one who killed me, so could it be…?"  He didn't finish the thought before hurrying to catch up with his friend and partner.

~**To Be Continued…**~

**Chibigreen's Notes:** Um, the deaths got slightly bloody, huh?  ^__^;;;  It's partly because, hey, they _did_ die, and partly because someone at my school told me the substance to the storyline of _Silence of the Lambs_.  *shudders*  I am _so_ glad that I haven't seen that movie or its prequel and sequel.  I had to shut him up by bribing him with some Halloween candy.  Oh, and the scenes are partly because of the recent small surgery I went through, where I had a mole removed that the doctor's thought _might_ be cancerous (it wasn't).  After seeing my ex-mole floating in a jar of liquid and the hole where my ex-mole had been being stitched up, I had sudden inspiration for a gory story…  (And the stitched itched/ached/hurt like crazy, too!)

I'm glad that I finally got my Dark Destroyers part of the story out of the way.  Anyway, a few people (like me) have been drawing pictures of their characters.  Steel Knight drew a picture of his new, improved Sho, Tatsu-no-Houou drew a few pictures of Tatsu, and I drew one picture of Rime and another of Phloem.

**Steel Knight** – The picture of Sho was really interesting!

**Tatsu no Houou** – Ah, in this fic, Tatsu is _just_ a Cyberdramon hybrid, even if he does have _really_ strange eyes.  I would love to make him into a non-human, but… There's _only_ humans, Digimon, and various levels Digimon-human hybrids in this story.  And you might've not said that Sakura was very good with a sword, but, hey, she kicked her opponent's butt and practically sliced him in two… I figured that she was pretty good with a sword if she carried one around.

**ChibiSora** – Don't worry, I didn't take any offense from you saying that you wanted the next chapter up quickly.  ^__^;;;  I didn't mean anything mean by my remark about your remark.

**Takeru and Hikari** – Phloem's a blushing type of person.  ^___^  I have a few cute Vahn/Phloem scenes planned for the next chapter, or maybe the one after that.

**PrincessKitty-Chan** – Calm, calm.  You don't need to get so excited.  Like I said, I got stitches because I had a mole/benign tumor removed.  It's just that the stitches were annoying.  And if you think in Spanish in Hebrew school… Well, I can't help you there.  Creo que tú eres muy loca.  ^___^

**Red Wolf** – Revolutionary Girl Utena was a _very_ scary movie because it was so crazy.  It's just insane.  And my writing isn't long.  Lots of people write more than I do.  I don't think I write enough.

So, you want to click that little button below this, right?  ^___^


	15. Portal to Hell

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or any of the main characters in this fic except for Rime and Phloem.  I also came up with the idea of 'weremon.'  Most Digimon that appear in this fic I looked up at Sora's Digimon Palace Digidex (http://boesv061.speed.planet.nl/).

**Chapter 14:** Portal to Hell

"You want me to teleport you in _where_?"  Kurai looked at Rime as if he had been dropped on his head when he was little.  "Are you insane?"  They were currently back in the Village of the Weremon.

Pixie, who had been listening, interjected, "He has a point, Kurai.  The noblemen, being politicians, have refused to believe any report that Rime is alive, but they wouldn't mind killing an 'imposter'.  We wouldn't be able to get close to the castle."

A vein in Kurai's forehead twitched.  "B…But teleporting into the Throne Room in front of a full court?  The guards shoot intruders on sight.  We'd all die!"

"Not if I'm around," Relaina stated.  "Not even one bullet would be able to get past _me_."

Exasperated, she retorted, "Then why don't I just teleport us _all_ in, then?!"

Brian nodded in agreement.  "They would be more likely to believe us if Pixie and I did come along."

Kurai hung her head in defeat.  "Okay," she acquiesced.  "I'll do it.  Even if it is a stupid plan…" She looked up with a mischievous look in her eye and smirked at the Digidestined and their Digimon.  "Get ready to go!"  With a small 'pop', they all vanished.

Then they reappeared in the middle of a council session at the palace.  Kurai's aim had landed them right on the dais.  As she had expected, the guards fired on them.  Relaina simply held the bullets in midair.

Rime lazily walked over to the emperor's throne and sat down in the magnificent white and gold monument.  "I'm back," was all he said.  Sorcerymon stood defensively at his side.  The council erupted into chaos.

********

Phloem smiled happily as he walked through the Imperial Guard's headquarters.  He thought back to how Rime had eventually convinced the nobles that he wasn't an imposter, the Havens were dead, and that Phloem wasn't a criminal in slightly more than a week.  The latter had surprised them the most, considering that the last time they had seen the prince was just after he had Phloem arrested.  But now Rime was officially the emperor, and Phloem had somehow been promoted from a cadet to a captain.  On top of that, Rime had informed him that Phloem would soon be inducted into Lord Haven's former position since the aforementioned was now dead.  He hadn't really been given a choice in the matter.  Rime had insisted that he be ennobled.

The other Digidestined were also staying the palace.  Relaina was in a bad mood because she'd wanted to go back to her former position, but she was getting over it.  He often saw her in the training grounds practicing with Magnus.  Sho had wandered off somewhere the day after they had arrived in Sanctus.  Alan was even more quiet than usual.  He had been shaken after almost killing his opponent, Killey, and was rebalancing himself by going through the library and learning as much as he could about the pre-Digital Realization world.

Magnus had stopped being quite so obsessive about guarding Brian and was spending more time with Relaina.  Pixie and Brian were officially going out, and they often went to the city to relax or find some form of entertainment.  After being given official pardon, Kurai was reluctantly learning court manners, but Phloem sensed that she was slightly bored with her situation.  Tatsu and Sakura were searching the palace libraries for any more information on hybrids.

And Rime was making the nobles sweat by instating a large number of reforms that sharply increased the rights of Digimon and commoners.  He had remarked to Phloem that it was fun to see the more obstinate ones scramble to hold onto their power.  Even the more complacent ones were still resisting a bill that gave as many rights to a partnerless human or Digimon as the partnered ones had.  That one was still going through the works because of the nobles' resistance and because of the need to define exactly when a partnerless human or Digimon was considered dangerous.  In the meantime, Rime had completely halted all executions of partnerless humans.

Upon Vahn's request, no one said what exactly he was or why he didn't have a Digimon.  The whole court wondered who he was almost as much as they wondered what had happened to change Emperor Rime's attitude so greatly.  Vahn had taken to relaxing on the rooftop of the Imperial Guard headquarters when he wasn't having talks with Rime about introducing the weremon to the rest of society.

Finally, Phloem spotted Vahn on the top of one of the towers.  He needed to talk to him because he had seen something disturbing underneath the palace, and Vahn was the only one not busy doing something.  He turned to his Digimon.  "Tapirmon, can you tell him to meet me at the bottom of the tower?  I think he needs to see this."

Tapirmon nodded.  "I will get him."  Phloem impatiently walked to the tower and began to pace.  What he had seen should not have even existed, yet Tapirmon had not acted surprised to see it at all.  He had only looked worried, as if he had encountered something like it long, long ago.

Vahn came down the tower with Tapirmon.  Smiling worryingly, Phloem grasped Vahn's arm.  "There's something bad beneath the palace, but I'm not sure what it is," he said.  His wide eyes showed a tinge of fear.

"What does it look like?" Vahn asked as Phloem began to pull him back towards the palace.  "Where beneath the palace is it?"  He was surprised at how firm Phloem was acting.  Usually he had a more passive personality.

Phloem didn't stop.  "You'll see.  It's near the underground River, and I was walking around there and found… it.  I know that the others all have jobs to do, but I wanted someone to see it."  Vahn allowed himself to be led by the very worried Phloem as Tapirmon floated in front of them.  The shorter boy didn't seem to notice anything, but was concentrated on whatever "it" was.

*******

Out in the city, Brian blew on a hot cup of tea to cool it.  He was with Pixie in one of the city's many restaurants.  He looked up suddenly, squinting as if he was seeing something very far away.

Across the table from him, Pixie asked, "Is something wrong?"

He looked troubled.  "I'm not sure.  I thought I sensed something at the palace, but I can't tell what it is.  I just know that something's happening."  He took a sip of tea.  "I can tell it's being taken care of, but I don't feel like the problem is being completely solved, whatever it is."

"Should we go back?"

Brian shook his head.  "It doesn't seem like anything will come of it anytime soon.  We might as well enjoy our meal."  However, the event that he couldn't quite see hovered ominously in his mind.

********

Rime looked at his Digivice.  It was glowing slightly, and that disturbed him.  There was no apparent reason for it to be shining like it was.  Most of the Digidestined were out of the palace, and he didn't know where most of them in the palace were.  That was why he was heading towards Kurai's rooms.  Finding the correct door, he walked in, but perhaps he should have knocked first…

There came a cry of "PERVERT!"  Rime quickly had to shut the door before a heavy tome connected with his head.  As it was, the strong wooden door shuddered at the impact.  Muttering something along the lines of, "It's not like I saw anything anyway," he quickly walked away with Sorcerymon.  The Digimon looked amused.

A few moments later, BlackGatomon and a now-fully dressed Kurai opened the door and peeked outside.  _'Good, he left,'_ was her first thought.  Then came, '_The inconsiderate moron!  He could've at least stayed to apologize!'_  With a sound of indignation, she slammed the door shut again, never noticing that her D-Seed was shimmering.

********

Outside the castle, at the training courts, Magnus and Relaina were having a short practice duel.  The pace of sword-hitting-sword slowed only slightly when they heard someone yell and then a door slam inside the castle.  "I wonder what that was about?" Relaina said as she blocked Magnus's strike and then counterattacked.

"No idea," he replied shortly as he dodged and quickly struck at her again.  Their duel continued in silence, both of them going all-out with the blunted practice blades.  From the fence, Guilmon and Gabumon watched the mock battle.

"Is this their idea of a date?" Gabumon asked Guilmon, who just shrugged with a confused expression.

********

Alan worked quietly inside the quiet palace library as he sorted through some of the older files that Rime had just released to the public from the Emperor's formerly private library.  There were compilations of information on everything from popular music to the government.  Sakura and Tatsu were also in there as they tried to find more on the subject of hybrids.

Suddenly, one of Sakura's Gatomon ear's twitched and she and Gatomon both sat straight up.  "It seems," said Sakura with a smile, "that Rime forgot to knock before entering Kurai's room."

Tatsu continued to page through a book.  "She's going to kill him."  Monodramon nodded in agreement.

"I doubt it," Alan murmured as he tried to decipher some faded writing, "but they certainly do make an odd couple."  He glanced at his wrist as a flicker of light caught his eye.  "My D-Seed is glowing," he said, a tinge of surprise apparent in his voice

Veemon looked at it curiously.  "I'm not Digivolving, so why's it shining like that?"

Tatsu and Sakura glanced at their own wrists before meeting each other's gaze.  "Ours are glowing, too."

"Is something happening that we don't know about?" Sakura wondered.  "Maybe we should go investigate."  In silent agreement, the three Digidestined and their Digimon got up and left the library.

********

Somewhere in the countryside, Sho and SnowAgumon walked on a small trail through a forest.  For a second, Sho paused and looked behind him before continuing forward.  "What was that for?" asked SnowAgumon quietly.

He replied, "I just had a bad feeling.  It's nothing."  They continued to walk for a while, but suddenly the landscape shifted and they were standing in front of a cave.  It didn't look too far from where they had been, but it was definitely not on the path.  SnowAgumon and Sho traded glances before walking inside.

It seemed like a completely normal cave, except for one thing: There was something hanging in the air in front of him.  "What is it?" Sho said with fascinated disgust.  It seemed like a dark, jagged rip in the very fabric of the world itself, a portal to some kind of hell.  An uneasy feeling overcame both of them, but then Sho's D-Seed made a small beeping noise.  He held it up to look at it, and it burst into light.

********

Phloem, Vahn and Tapirmon stood in front of something similar to what Sho and SnowAgumon had seen, but much, much larger.  In the burial caverns beneath the palace, it stretched from the floor to the ceiling in one of the less used part of the caves.  "This is what I was talking about," Phloem said in a breathless whisper.  The thing was terrible to look at.  Shapes and shadows shifted in a chaotic pattern just after the fabric of the "real" world ended and just before the shadow world began.  In the back of it all was the shadow of a sea monster-like Digimon, terrible to behold for just the feeling of cruelty that seemed to radiate off it as its image flickered in and out.

Tapirmon was contemplative and quiet.  He looked almost saddened by the sight of it.  "It was supposed to have been sealed long, long ago," he said with a sigh.  "But the greatest of the evils sealed in there… I cannot sense it."

Vahn's eyes flashed in recognition.  "Now I understand what it is.  Because most Weremon can trace their history back to the son of Hikari, the Bearer of Light, we have legends of this place.  Supposedly both she and Ken, the Bearer of Kindness, were able to step across the barriers of the worlds more easily than those of the rest of the Digidestined, whom could only cross between the Digital and Real Worlds.  This is the world known as the realm of darkness, the Dark Ocean, where a shadow with the form of a Dragomon resides and Daemon was sealed long ago…"

"Yes," Tapirmon agreed with a heavy sigh, "but it seems as if Daemon has escaped."

~**To Be Continued…**~

**Chibigreen's Notes:** Whoa!  A cliffhanger-ish ending for this chapter… I didn't meant to have one there, actually, but I decided to post this chapter now since I hit a small writer's block there.  Sorry for the late update.  Real life intruded once again.  And I didn't feel like writing anymore at all.  I _hated_ the last chapter. *burns hard copy of the story*  Mwahahaha!  Ahem.  Anyhow, other people seemed to like it, so I guess I don't mind it too much… And it seems like the links to the pictures of people in this story didn't work out correctly, so I'm posting the links once again.  Just copy and paste the addresses if you want to see them.

Sho (http://www.angelfire.lycos.com/ri2/darkside2/Shoa.JPG) by Steel Knight

Tatsu (http://www.angelfire.lycos.com/anime4/takatomon/images/Images.html) by Tatsu no Houou

Rime (http://members.tripod.com/chibigreenmagic/muses/rime2.gif) by me

Phloem (http://members.tripod.com/chibigreenmagic/muses/phloem.gif) by me again

Steel Knight has also written a story that continues this one, but focuses on Sho.  (http://fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1101581)

Also, someone named Lanen (http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=23214) drew an amazingly good picture of _all _of my muses, including Phloem (who looks quite different from what I drew him as) and Rime (who looks very good). (http://chibigreenmagic.tripod.com/muses/picforchibigreen.gif)****

**ChibiSora** – I figured Relaina wouldn't mind killing she considered 'bad'.  It seems to be in her personality.  ^___^

**PrincessKitty-Chan** – Calm down, calm down.  You'll find out soon enough just how much "history is repeating itself" in this fic.  And thinking in Japanese in Hebrew class isn't that bad… I was thinking in Spanish in English class.  You know, you might want to concentrate on Geometry instead of this story.  ^__^;;

**Takeru and Hikari** – I'm glad someone liked the bloody battle scene.  (I didn't, and I was the one who wrote it!)  I hope you're able to continue with "Destiny" soon.  Parents are Evil… ^___^

**Red Wolf** – You know, you could just use the books at your library to look up info on Kansas.  I didn't get any of the info for you, but by the time I looked at the review a few weeks had passed.  Sorry!  I'm glad you like the story.  ^___^

**Steel Knight** – I put the link to your story above, just in case anyone else wanted to read it.  Though I think your timeline clashes slightly with mine…

So, you want to click that little button below this, right?  ^___^


	16. Growth

*Note: Chapter 15, Chapter 16, and the Epilogue were uploaded together.*

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or any of the main characters in this fic except for Rime and Phloem.  I also came up with the idea of 'weremon.'

**Chapter 15:** Growth

Phloem stared at Tapirmon.  "Daemon escaped?"

Tapirmon nodded.  "I was still around as a ghost when it happened, but even then it was easy for me to sense his presence.  Now he's just…gone."

Vahn shook his head.  "This explains too much.  Daemon reportedly had some ties with MaloMyotismon, who was destroyed, not just sealed.  Maybe he learned a few tricks from MaloMyotismon, like controlling people…"

"We should get the others," Phloem commented.  Vahn and Tapirmon traded looks of silent agreement, and then they all went away from the cavern in a quick walk, a sudden sense of urgency pushing them to hurry.

********

Sho stared at the dark portal.  It had reacted to his D-Seed's light by clearing up slightly.  "What the…?"

"Go in," whispered a soft, childlike voice.  He looked around for the owner, but it seemed to have come from his D-Seed.  "Go in.  Your destiny awaits if you can make it through the Dark Ocean."

"The Dark Ocean…" SnowAgumon repeated in surprise.  "No one can make it through there."  Looking into the portal, Sho had to agree with his Digimon's assessment.

"Go in," the voice urged again.  "Find your destiny.  Survive."

"How can I, in there?" asked Sho.

"Run.  Run and don't stop running until you are out once again."  The voice fell silent.

Sho looked at SnowAgumon.  "I think we should go," said the Digimon.

Sho nodded in accord.  "Then let's go."  Digimon and human took off at a run into the place of people's worst nightmares.

********

Now gathered at the portal, the other Digidestined and their Digimon were receiving a similar message from each D-Seed.  Soft children's voices were telling them to go in, to run and keep on running until they found their destiny.  "Go…"

Pixie frowned.  "Should we really go in…there?" she said, gesturing towards the dark portal.

"I don't think that there's anything else we can do," Rime answered.

Alan shook his head, but not in disagreement.  He just didn't like even to look at the place.  "Let's just get it over with."

"Look at it this way, Alan," said Veemon cheerfully.  "We could end up saving the world."

"Or we could end up dead," Rime's Tapirmon added.  "Be careful."

All was silent for a moment.  "Just try to stay alive, then," Kurai said.  Everyone nodded.  "Let's go!"

********

Sho stumbled slightly on the gray sand in the almost lightless world.  The shadows were beginning to catch up to him.  One finally grabbed his ankle, causing him to trip and curse.  He kicked it off as it took on the form of a colorless Scubamon.  SnowAgumon couldn't Digivolve in the dark world; he'd already tried.  The Scubamon/shadows quickly surrounded them.  "This is a crappy situation," Sho commented to SnowAgumon.

The Scubamon drew closer, and SnowAgumon and Sho got into fighting stances.

Suddenly, a blast shook the area.  "GRAND CROSS!"  Several of the Scubamon were instantly killed by the attack.  Lucemon-Vahn floated above Sho and SnowAgumon.  "You two had better get out of here," he said to them.  "The others are just ahead of you, on top of the cliff.  I'll watch your back."  He released another Grand Cross attack towards the Scubamon to clear a path.  Sho nodded, and began to run with SnowAgumon again.

Vahn floated down to the ground.  The Scubamon looked unimpressed as they turned their attention to him.  "You should've ran away," he told them before powering up another attack.  "Grand Cross!"  He let out a barrage of powerful attacks. Whenever a dark Scubamon was hit, it vanished, and he kept on attacking until they were completely gone.

The ground seemed to shake beneath his feet, so he hastily took to the air.  He reached the cliff top where the rest were just as Sho and SnowAgumon reached the top.  Vahn transformed back into his human form as the rest observed the scene in front of them.  A jagged, circular area was swirling with several hues of colors; red, orange, yellow, and blue, it was like a prism in the world of darkness.  Each color was concentrated in a section of it.

The ground continued to rumble.  Magnus and Relaina looked back, only to see something large rising out of the ocean in the distance.  Near the shore, red-eyed shadows slithered and slinked across the beach, quickly making their way to the cliff, which they began to climb.

"It looks like we're supposed to go into this," observed Brian.  He grinned.  "Pick the color you like best, and let's go!"

Rime put a hand to his head and sighed.  "This Digidestined…stuff…makes being an emperor seem easy."

Kurai smiled.  "Relax, Rime.  It'll be all right."

Tatsu stepped forward.  "I'll go in first," he said.  With Monodramon, he stepped up to the barrier.  It flashed gold, and then they were gone.

Looking puzzled, Sakura said, "Did I just see the moon…?  I guess I'll go next."  With Salamon, she approached the barrier.  Again it flashed gold as the partners vanished.

As the others hesitated, Sho and SnowAgumon stepped forward and disappeared in gray light.  The rest followed, a human going with their Digimon partner and disappearing in a light the color of their crest.  Finally only Phloem, Vahn, and Tapirmon were left.

"Let's go together, just in case," Phloem suggested while holding out his hand.  "It seems to have something to do with the D-Seed."  Nodding in agreement, Vahn took Phloem's hand and the three walked to the barrier.  It flashed blue, and the barrier itself disappeared.

Seconds later, when the first of the shadows had scaled the cliff, they hissed in annoyance when they saw no one.  Ramming their forms against where the portal had been, the air flicked.  A cracking sound was audible; the barrier was breaking.

********

Tatsu looked around him.  As far as he could see, there was a dusty, rocky plain with no grass growing, and the stars overhead were unusually bright.  They were also not in the same places that he remembered.  Then he turned around, and he saw the Earth.  His golden eyes widened in surprise behind his bandages.  Carefully he removed the wrappings so that he could more clearly see everything.  With his enhanced eyesight uninhibited, he could see the glitter of cities with busy nightlives and the peaks of mountains that pierced the clouds.  "Monodramon," he said to the Digimon at his side, "we're on the moon, aren't we?"

The Digimon nodded.  "I don't know how.  I don't even know how we can breath."

"Some dimensions are getting closer together," said a voice far to their right.  Sitting on top of a large boulder halfway between them and the low horizon line were two familiar beings: Shiro, formerly of the Dark Destroyers, and his GrappLeomon.  "Laws of nature are beginning to break; it could be the Realization all over again," he continued as he took in the view of the Earth.  "You and your friends may be able to stop it… or at least the Digital Gods think so."

"You're much calmer than you were before," remarked Tatsu to the gray-haired man.

Shiro looked at Tatsu with controlled anger in his eyes.  "Believe me, I haven't forgotten that you almost killed me.  There are just some things more important than revenge."  He looked at the world with its blue oceans and green and brown landmasses.  "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Tatsu nodded.  "It is."

Another voice spoke.  "Tatsu!  Hey, Tatsu!"  Sakura and Salamon came jogging over a hill.  Rime and Sorcerymon followed behind them.  She stopped when she reached him, smiled at him, and then frowned in the direction of Shiro.  "What's _he_ doing here?"

"And how are we breathing on the moon?" wondered Rime.  "It's not supposed to be that way."

Shiro and GrappLeomon stood and faced them.  "Exactly.  The first step to putting everything back to the way it's supposed to be is defeating me," he said.  "Then, maybe, you can go on to saving the Earth."  For a moment, gold and pink lights flickered over both human and Digimon.  "If you wish to fight _me_, you may… however, it is my partner that you should worry about."

********

Magnus and Relaina stared warily at Cleo and JewelBeemon.  Around them, snow was falling, but they weren't very cold.  That was surprising, considering that they were at the South Pole.  The icy landscape was calm and pure; the only blemishes to the bleached land were the colorful forms of three each of humans and Digimon.  "Are we going to fight or not?" Cleo asked.  A red glow swept across her skin suddenly, but just as quickly died down.

Relaina looked at Magnus, who nodded.  Their D-Seeds lit up, and Guilmon and Gabumon evolved into WarGrowlmon and WereGarurumon.  "We're ready," said Relaina.

Cleo looked at them curiously.  "You two are planning to fight me?  If you wish…" She pulled a sword out of the sheath at her side.  They rushed to attack her… but both strikes were easily blocked.  Yet after she had parried their blows, she made no move to strike back and just stood there, waiting.

********

On an island somewhere in an eastern ocean, another battle was taking place.  "This will be a Digimon-only battle," Luc said as he looked down at them from the top of a cliff.  "Mind battles won't work this time around."

In the air between them, MagnaAngemon, AeroVeedramon, and Karatenmon were already fighting.  Yet, somehow, the crow-like Digimon was holding its own against the other two Ultimates.  Even MagnaAngemon's Gate of Destiny failed to stop Karatenmon.  Then, he had simply used his twin swords to block AeroVeedramon's Magnum Crasher and V-Wing Blade.

"How are you going to win this way?" asked Karatenmon as he slashed AeroVeedramon with one of his swords.    He sped towards MagnaAngemon with his swords crossed, but the angel Digimon pulled out Excalibur and blocked the attack.

********

The cat-like Bastemon gracefully raced through the snow, knocking back Paildramon and LadyDevimon easily.  Kurai glared at Sierra from the other side of a large fault in the ice and snow.  "I despise you!" she shouted across the gap.  Alan, standing next to her, winced at the volume as the snow swirled around them.

Sierra half-smiled as she calmly flipped her throwing knives into the air before catching them as they fell.  "Then why don't you do something about it?"

The Digidestined of Sincerity scowled.  "If I teleported, you'd probably 'push' me into the ground!"

"And your point is?"

Alan winced as Paildramon crashed into the ground.  Against Bastemon's somehow enhanced speed and power, their Digimon weren't holding up well at all.  He interrupted Kurai's retort to Sierra's comment.  "Arguing is useless right now!  We need to find someway to help our Digimon."

Falling silent, Kurai glanced worriedly at LadyDevimon as the Digimon barely dodged another attack.  "But…  How?"

An idea came to him suddenly as his gaze fell to his D-Seed.  "Maybe-"

********

"If you don't attack me, I won't attack you," Cleo said with a smile towards Magnus and Relaina.  "Fighting me is not helping you're situation at all."

Relaina frowned and looked at the still-fighting Digimon.  "If only they could Digivolve further, they could win."

"If only they could…" said Magnus.  "Maybe we can help."

********

Panjyamon unleashed another freezing punch at Mammothmon, smoothly dodging both Mammothmon's Tusk Crusher attack.  Running agilely across the sand, the white lion-like Digimon punched at his other opponent, BlueMeramon, and knocked him back into a tree.  Stopping, he waited for the other two to get back to their feet.

Phloem held his side in pain as Mammothmon took another blow.  Sweat that wasn't just from the island's heat coated his brow.  "Hang…in…there…" he whispered as his Digimon got up again.  "You can win…" Vahn's arms steadied Phloem and kept him from falling.

Panjyamon's human, Killey, smirked from where he was standing a few yards away in the shade of a tree.  "Aw, poor baby.  Are you too close to your Digimon?"  His eyes flickered to where Sho was standing.  "_You're_ not, though."

Sho glared coldly back.  "If it would help anything, I would kill you right now."  Killey simply shrugged.  He had already found out that he could not heal Phloem's wounds caused by the younger Digidestined's bond with his Digimon because Mammothmon was still fighting.

So softly that it was almost inaudible, Phloem said, "It wants to grow."

Vahn leaned down.  "What is it, Phloem?"

More firmly, Phloem said, "It wants to grow."  He looked at Mammothmon's battle.  "The D-Seed wants to grow."

Sho looked at his own Digivice.  '_It wants to grow?_'  Gently, he laid one finger on the D-Seed.  "Grow," he said as he sent his healing energies into it.  The cover popped open, and a small CD rolled out to the ground.

Killey looked at it in bemusement.  "What…?"

The shiny CD imprinted with the gray Crest of Reliability glimmered for a second, even though a plant's shadow blocked out the sun.  It glowed brightly, and then a sapling was rapidly growing into a tree where the disk had been.

As if that had broken some final lock, a similar disk, but this time with the Crest of Friendship, came out of Phloem's D-Seed.  Phloem smiled as he watched the two trees get larger and larger.

********

Brian and Pixie watched in wonder as the two trees grew from the CDs that had been in their Digivice.  Quickly they grew larger and larger, sending out many roots deep into the ground as the trunk branched out into the sky.  Perfectly shaped, large emerald green leaves sprouted from the branches just as quickly.  Soon, they were standing in front of a pair of intertwined trees that could have easily have overshadowed the entire city of Sanctus.

A burst of light to their side made them turn to look.  Their Digimon were once again evolving, this time from a burst of power that they had received from the trees themselves.

"MagnaAngemon Digivolve to… Goldramon!"

"AeroVeedramon Digivolve to… Seraphimon!"

Both Digimon, while not true God Digimon like the original Seraphimon, still radiated power.  They turned their attention to Karatenmon, ready to attack.

"That's enough!" shouted Luc.  He had somehow made his way down to the ground from the cliff.  He bowed towards Pixie, Brian, and their Digimon.  "We surrender."

********

"Your battle is not over," Shiro warned Tatsu, Sakura, and Rime.  Behind them, Justimon, Magnadramon, and Vikemon stood warily.  "I was sent by the Divine Digimon to prepare you for some other, greater power, but that is all I know about it."

As their attention was focused on Shiro, the Digidestined did not notice when drops of white data fell like sap from the trees and touched them.  The humans and Digimon vanished instantly.

GrappLeomon knelt down and gently touched a flower.  Once the three trees had grown, grass and other plants had begun to sprout all over the moon.  "One day humans and Digimon may live here in harmony," he said in a rumbling, deep voice.

Shiro looked up; the Earth was still overhead.  "I just hope we all survive whatever's coming."  A shadow turned the beautiful white clouds of the Earth sky into a murky gray.  "Let's hope these Digidestined win.  Do you think they will?"  The android Digimon looked troubled and did not answer as the flowers and grass spread across the surface of the moon.

~**To Be Continued…**~

**Chibigreen's Notes:** Ah, it took me long enough to finish that… To make up for it, I'm quickly finishing the rest of the story!  It will be uploaded on Monday (making it my fastest update ever).  There should be one more chapter and an epilogue… As it's the end of the story, the characters cannot have their personality/history delved into much more… too bad.  Somehow I wish I could've focused on all the characters more…  Um, to get this chapter uploaded today, I didn't reply to reviews, but I wish to thank Tatsu-no-Houou, ChibiSora, PrincessKitty-Chan, and Red Wolf for reviewing.


	17. Beating Heart

*Note: Chapter 16 and the Epilogue were uploaded together.*

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or any of the main characters in this fic except for Rime and Phloem.  I also came up with the idea of 'weremon.'

**Chapter 16:** Beating Heart

A root from a tree pushed its way through the ground.  With other such roots, it pushed on and on until, finally, they all reached what they were searching for.  A pulsing white orb sat beneath a layer of molten rock and metal, but the magma did not damage the roots.  The roots went on and touched the orb, wrapping themselves around It.  Its light and energy spread into them, and they sent something into It to fight the infection that threatened to destroy the Earth and the newly living moon.  The Trees of the Crests refused to let It be hurt.

One by one, the eleven Digidestined and their Digimon appeared in the orb.  The Trees knew that what the chosen ones would see would not be what they saw.  Where they saw the pulsing core of the Earth, the Digidestined would see an endless white plane.

Alan, Imperialdramon, Kurai, and Rosemon were the firsts to appear in the core.  Then came Brian and Goldramon, Pixie and Seraphimon, Relaina and MetalGarurumon, and Magnus and Gallantmon.  Before they could even form a clear thought, the last ones appeared: Rime, Vikemon, Tatsu, Justimon, Sakura, Magnadramon, Sho, Boltmon, Phloem (now fully healed), and SkullMammothmon.  Vahn was the only one not there.

"Where are we?" Pixie wondered.

Brian looked thoughtful.  "I think we're somewhere inside the Earth."

"Then it is the inside of the moon, too," Rime commented as he took off his sunglasses.  "Could it be both?"

Kurai threw an incredulous glance at Rime.  "The moon?"  Rime nodded.  Slowly, silence permeated the Digidestined.

Moments later, Magnadramon lowered her head towards Sakura.  "Something is not right here.  There is something very wrong in the air."

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura.

"Can't you feel it?" Phloem asked her.  He shivered at the feeling that filled the air.

"It's evil," SkullMammothmon said, standing protectively over Phloem.  He turned his head, his tusks sweeping the air, searching for the source.

A booming laughter filled the air.  "So, you noticed my presence," the voice said.  The area in front of them darkened and blocked out all light.  The surface of the core darkened as the shadows melted into the form of Daemon.  His blood red robes covered most of his body and left all but his evil blue eyes shadowed.  Horns protruded from his forehead, his fingers ended in red claws, bat-like wings sprouted from his back.  The star was sown into the hood of his cloak.  Around his feet, the pure data was corrupted and blackened.

SkullMammothmon growled and lowered his head threateningly.  "You're back.  Isn't being sealed in the Dark World enough for you?"

The horrible eyes of Daemon swept past Phloem and onto the evolution of Tapirmon.  Phloem suppressed a shudder at the twisted feelings the mind behind the eyes contained.  "The Dark World grants wishes," Daemon stated simply.  "It is made of pure human and Digimon emotions.  I was weak after being sealed there, true, but it eventually granted _my_ wishes, making me stronger and more powerful than any, including Dragomon."  He turned his head.  "Speaking of which… Evil Inferno!"  He cast black fire behind him, and it exploded as the world shook.

Brian's power gave him a vision of what was to come in Daemon's version of the future.  _Walls blackened by fire, bones littering the ground… An even more monstrous Daemon casually ground a bone into dust while laughing.  The ash and dust swept into the air by the motion floated back down, landing in a pool of dark blood.  All color was being sucked into a hole in the sky._  "He's planning to join his world with ours," he whispered in horror.

Where the fire had hit, a hole was burning in the very substance of the world.  The burning data crumbled like walls turned to dust, opening up a portal to the darkness.  A large shadow with a presence almost as intimidating as that of Daemon lumbered to the front of the shifting shadows.  Its eyes burned with dark flame as it slid a tentacle through the broken barrier between the worlds.  "Finally… the light will be mine."  Its hoarse voice sounded both ancient and horrible.

Daemon's eyes glimmered in dark amusement.  "I don't think so."

The shadow Dragomon stopped.  "What do you mean, Daemon?  We had a deal to conquer this world together!  I _will_ have the light."

"You can't handle it."  Daemon turned to look Dragomon in the eyes.  "See?" he said, gesturing to Dragomon's outstretched tentacle.

The tentacle was slowly being consumed by the glow of the still uncorrupted data.  "Nooooo!" Dragomon gave a pathetic scream of pain as it slowly vanished.  After ruling a world of darkness for so long, Dragomon could not live in the light.  "Daemon!  You said… You said I would rule the light!"

"I will be the sole ruler," he replied.  "But…you may yet be of help."  He made another gesture at the vanishing data of Dragomon's tentacle, and instead of vanishing the data began to flow into Daemon's outstretched hand.  Dragomon roared in pain and anger as he was quickly absorbed into Daemon.  The demon lord went on to absorb the rest of the shadows, growing in size and atrociousness.  His horns became longer and more curved; his wings more deadly.  The upside-down stars on his cloak grew circles around them, turning them into inverted pentagrams, the true sign of the devil.  The darkness around him spread as he fell to his knees at the rush of power he was experienced.  He began to laugh again; he laughed and laughed and laughed as he realized that he had become the true embodiment of the Dark Ocean.

One of his arms morphed into a tentacle much like those of Dragomon.  Lazily, he began to approach the Digidestined.  It had all happened too quickly for them to do much more than watch in surprise as the events unfolded.  Now they stood ready for any attack…or so they thought.

Gallantmon was the first to try and attack.  As the large red knight Digimon attacked, Daemon, now of equal size, simply sent out his tentacle.  A slight movement of it sent Gallantmon crashing against the barriers of the core, proving that it did not truly go on forever.  A shadow crawled over Gallantmon, trying to corrupt his data, but light from the core's wall made it dissolve.  Slowly, Gallantmon got back up as the other Digimon tried their attacks.

MetalGarurumon sent off a barrage of Giga Missiles, but the long-range weapons did not even reach halfway before Daemon's fire blew them up.  Imperialdramon's Positron Laser barely burnt the edge of the opposing Digimon's cloak.  After that, Boltmon did not get close before being smashed into the wall by another wave of Daemon's tentacle, but Rosemon was able to use her thorn whips to pull Boltmon out of the way before a second strike hit him.  Kurai gave her Digimon a thumbs up, but all the other Digidestined were either worrying about their Digimon or the threat of Daemon.

A blizzard sent at Daemon by Vikemon had little effect but to make Daemon pause and condescendingly brush the snow out of his eyes.  Magnadramon, Justimon, Seraphimon, and Goldramon all used this pause to attack together.  The combined attacks were enough to blow Daemon back.  None of the Digidestined cheered, however; all of them noticed that the area around Daemon was still turning black.

Daemon stood up with only slight difficulty.  "You are annoying me."  He sent his tentacle out again, but this time it was towards the Digidestined.  It snaked past the Digimon in front and went straight towards Phloem, who was standing closest.  Phloem watched it come with despondency, realizing that it was moving too quickly to dodge.

Then, suddenly, SkullMammothmon was in front of him, and the tentacle, instead of smashing Phloem, smashed through the skeleton Digimon's ribcage and pierced straight into the heart.  Daemon seemed to sneer as he wrapped the tentacle around the still beating heart.  "You used to be such a pesky Wizardmon," he said, and then he pulled.  The heart was crushed and disappeared in a stream of digital data.

SkullMammothmon crumpled; it was obvious that he could no longer survive.  Behind him, Phloem felt his own heart stop and put his hand to his chest as the immense pain spread through him.  "Tapir…Tapirmon…" Phloem gasped, still living, as his Digimon began to dissipate in front of him.  "Tapirmon…"

SkullMammothmon devolved for just a second, turning back into the Tapirmon that Phloem knew so well.  He looked at his partner with sad eyes.  "I'm sorry…I couldn't save you," he said.  "You're dying because I am…" That body, too, was disappearing, beginning with the smoky legs and working its way up.

A weakened and dying Phloem went down on his knees as he embraced what was left of his Digimon.  "You tried… You tried…"

Suddenly, Phloem realized there was a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Sho's eyes as Sho used his healing powers to restart Phloem's stopped heart.  Another wave of pain hit Phloem, but he knew he'd live.  However, in front of him, Tapirmon continued to vanish.  Phloem gasped as his lungs began to work again.   "T-Tapirmon…"  Tapirmon shook his head, but that too vanished.  "TAPIRMON!"

"We still have to fight Daemon," said Sho.  Phloem didn't reply; he just looked at Sho with empty eyes that were streaming tears.  Behind them, the sounds of battle resumed.  The others watched both their Digimon battle and Phloem's tragedy.  Sho shook Phloem's shoulders.  "You can't give up now!"  Sho could feel the life draining out of Phloem's body; without his Digimon, Phloem didn't wish to live.  The core's immense, reality-bending power, combined with the portal to the Dark Ocean, made it only too possible for Phloem to wish himself to death.  In a last-ditch attempt to save Phloem's life, Sho continued to heal him, replacing the power Phloem was letting go.

As Daemon was hit with Magnadramon's Dragon Fire, Phloem finally fell into unconsciousness.  Sho, spent of all his power, laid him down on the ground.  Whether Phloem lived or died was now completely out of his hands.

********

Vahn felt a sudden pain in his heart.  He was standing alone under the Tree of Friendship.  Above, the sky was dark and the stars could not be seen.  "Something's happened to Phloem," he realized.  Gently, he put a palm on the tree's massive trunk.  "Please… Let me go to Phloem.  Please…"

As if it heard his request, the bark beneath his palm began to glow gently.  A child's voice emanated from it.  "_Okay.  We'll help you, too._"  Before he could ask what the tree-child meant, he vanished from underneath the Tree.

Just as suddenly, Vahn found himself standing near a group of children with many other people and Digimon.  The children were at the center of the area, which swirled out in a rainbow of colors before fading into white.  Another different thing about the children were that none of them had Digimon, yet each of them had Digimon attribute, whether it be tails, ears, or even wings.

One with brown hair in a very unusual hairstyle and an Agumon tail stepped forward.  "Hello.  My name is Taichi," he said with a smile.  "I'm the spirit in the Tree of Courage."  Beside him, a girl with Gatomon ears and tail stepped forward.  "And this is my sister, Hikari, the spirit of the Tree of Light."

Vahn's eyes widened.  "You're the original Digidestined?"

A child with blue hair and the markings of a Gomamon pushed up his glasses nervously.  "We're them, but we have been dead a very long time."  He bowed politely.  "My name is Jou.  I represent Reliability."

Another boy, this time with the antennae of a Tentomon, stepped forwards.  "I am Koushirou.  The Holy Digimon and Digimon Sovereigns pulled together and put all of their power into recompiling us.  We were separate humans and Digimon, but now we are hybrids and are the protectors of this world."

One standing in the back who had Veemon ears and the V symbol on his forehead raised his hand to get everyone's attention.  "Hi, I'm Daisuke, representing the Tree of Miracles!  As some of you know, but most of you don't, the Digimon Sovereigns and the Holy Digimon also selected eleven new Digidestined to allow our Trees to grow.  Currently, they're fighting off Daemon… but there's a problem.  They aren't yet strong enough to win."

Vahn took a step towards them.  "Is Phloem okay?"

A blonde boy with two different ears, Lopmon on the left and Terriermon on the right, shook his head.  "He's still alive," he said hesitantly.  "I'm Wallace of the Tree of Destiny.  We've sensed that Phloem may not be the only one with problems if we don't do something soon."

"I'm Yamato of Friendship.  There's already several problems beginning to impact the Earth," said another with the horn and stripes of a Gabumon.  "Around the world, there have been sudden earthquakes, tsunamis, and tornados.  One place even suffered a volcanic eruption, but everyone in the area was able to get away in time.  If we don't do something soon, it could all be gone!"

After that, the other Tree spirits introduced themselves.  There was Ken, a boy with Wormmon antennae and markings, and Mimi, a girl with hair made of Palmon-like flower petals.  There was also Sora, who had pink wings the color of a Biyomon, and finally Takeru, the brother of Yamato, who had Patamon ears.

Takeru explained the plan the Trees had made.  "We're going to make you all into a new group of Digidestined."  The people standing around the spirits took a look around themselves for the first time since they had appeared in the circle.  There were many young people, but not a few older people.  Girls and boys, men and women of various countries with Digimon of all attributes and levels stood together.  Since the Digital Realization, few had traveled across the borders of their countries.  Now, they all mingled.

"Excuse me," a girl of perhaps eight without a Digimon nearby spoke up.  "I don't have a Digimon, and some of the Digimon here don't look like they have humans.  How are we supposed to help?"  Vahn vaguely noted that she was speaking a different language, but something about the circle let him understand her.

Sora smiled.  "You have a Digimon," she said.  "Most of you do.  Just look around."  The girl did as she was told.  Her face broke into a smile when she saw a Labramon, and he smiled back.  Soon the Digimon and human were hugging and talking like old friends.  Around the room, other such meetings were taking place, until Vahn was the only one standing alone.

Ken, who was half Vahn's height, walked up to him and touched Vahn's arm.  "You should prepare for a fight, too," he said softly.  Vahn smiled.  The Trees evidently knew a lot about him.  Slowly, he transformed into his Lucemon form.  Several humans behind him gasped in shock, but no one made any comment.  Ken nodded and stepped back.

"When will we get to our destination?" Vahn asked.  The circle's colors were beginning to pulse in time with a silent heartbeat.

Wallace cocked one ear as if listening.  "I believe…we're there."  Abruptly, they found themselves standing behind the various Mega-level Digimon of the Digidestined.  Daemon was still fighting them, but, though badly injured, none of the other Digimon were close to giving up their fight.

Vahn looked around until he spotted what he was most worried about.  With a few beats of his wings, his soared through the air and landed next to the fallen Phloem.  He knelt by Phloem's side, pressing a hand against Phloem's face.  "Phloem…" Distantly, part of him noticed that any Mega Digimon among the new people were also joining the fight against Daemon.

Softly, the spirits of the Trees also approached the unconscious Digidestined.  Hikari was crying.  "Wizardmon…Wizardmon was always such a kind person.  Why'd he have to die again?"  Phloem's hand twitched at the mention of his Digimon.

The new Digidestined were also approaching, and quietly Taichi explained who the Tree spirits were.  He also said his sister had once been a friend of the now deceased Tapirmon.  Tatsu shook his head.  "Tapirmon isn't completely gone yet," he announced.  The others looked at him in surprise.  He pointed to his eyes.  "I can see a kind of ghost floating around Phloem.  Tapirmon is still here."

Brian shook his head.  "I can sense him now, with my power, but he's not strong enough to become a Digimon again.  I'm afraid that that's all that could save Phloem."

"Wait!" Sakura exclaimed suddenly.  "What if he became a hybrid of human and Digimon?"

Koushirou shook his head.  "Hybrids require that at least some semblance of the Digimon to still exist in a physical form.  Phloem was truthfully a partial hybrid, but now…"

Sakura winced as a cut appeared down her arm.  Magnadramon had been hit.  "She knows that," Tatsu said, "but what if he becomes a _full_ hybrid?  It would be something like a weremon…" he trailed off.

"That's it!" Daisuke exclaimed.  "He'll be a full Hybrid!  It'll be a new species, if he's willing, and with the creation of a new type of being should come mega power!  Enough to completely obliterate Daemon and the Dark Ocean, without risking a merger of that world and this one!"

The Digidestined, old and new, looked at each other.  "It sounds like a good idea," said Pixie.  Alan and Magnus nodded in agreement.

Alan asked, "How can Phloem and Tapirmon merge?  None of us have the power to do anything on that scale."

Taking a deep breath, Taichi said, "We know that.  We will channel all of our power into Phloem's body and…"

"And?" wondered Relaina.

"…We'll just have to hope for the best."  He turned to look at Daemon, who was slowly battering all resistance out of his path.  "At this point, we have no other choice."  Ancient wisdom and experience showed in the eyes of Taichi's young body.  "It's worked before.  It may just work again."

Takeru nodded.  "Hope for the best," he said softly, "and it will happen."

The other spirits nodded together, and they all began to glow.  Slowly, the various colors of the crests bled together into a white light, and the glow engulfed Phloem.

********

Phloem blinked as he noticed that he was floating above his body.  "Not again…" He frowned.  "But this time, Tapirmon isn't here."

_Yes_, _I am_…

He looked around himself, but he couldn't see anything.  Everything was so blurry.  "Tapirmon?"

_Phloem_…

He shook his head.  He couldn't be hearing things.  "Tapirmon, where are you?"

_I am gone_…_yet I am still here_…

"You…you died."  Even without a physical body, it seemed that spirits could still cry.  Phloem felt the tears running down his face.  "I'm alone."

_I can be a part of you_.

"I'd do anything," Phloem sobbed.  "I'd do anything to have you back!"

_Then I will come_.

There was a flash of light, and then a sensation that Phloem had never felt before.  It felt like…complete contentment.  And, just as sudden as the flash of light, Phloem realized that he had never truly been alone…

********

Vahn watched as Phloem's body blurred and began to dissipate.  Then, the light around them grew brighter and brighter until even Rime, with his sunglasses, wondered how it was possible for him to see.  The Digidestined each noticed the symbol of their Crest glowing on their chest.  Vahn looked around, realizing that all the humans now had Crests, even if they were not one of the original Crests.  They seemed to be mixtures of some Crests, variants of others… He realized that even he had a Crest, and he touched the shining purple crest with awe.  He somehow knew its name: Righteousness, a combination of Knowledge and Reliability.

He looked up, and then he saw that Phloem was _not_ gone.  Instead of the boy he had known with green eyes and light brown hair, there was someone who looked exactly like Phloem, but wasn't quite.  The new Phloem had one blue eye and one purple eye, and his hair was the same brown as Tapirmon's darkest fur.  His pants were now purple, the shade of some of Tapirmon's markings, and his light brown shirt was simply another shade of the Digimon's fur.  Around his wrist hung a Holy Ring, and on the middle of his forehead was the same yellow marking of the third eye that had adorned Tapirmon's metal mask.

Energy was radiating from Phloem in waves that strengthened all of the humans and all of the Digimon, except for Daemon.  The demon lord Digimon let out a cry of agony as the attacks of all the Digimon from Baby to Mega gained enough power to seriously damage him.  He grew smaller and smaller, losing the tentacles and powers he had gained from absorbing Dragomon, and belatedly tried to retreat towards the portal to the Dark Ocean… only to find it was gone, completely destroyed.  The new Digidestined had combined all their powers to obliterate it, and Rime's power had erased all traces of corruption.

"It was to be my world, my paradise, my… Aaaaaaargh!" Daemon let out one last shriek before a final combined attack erased him from the world, forever.

The power slowly ebbed out of the room, and the glow died down.  The voices of the Trees spoke as the children vanished.  "Thank you.  Now, the world is safe, and you can go back to fighting your own personal battles…" The voices faded, and all the humans and Digimon vanished from the core.

Kurai looked around herself, bemused.  They had been returned to the roof of the palace, and it was night.  The stars shined brightly above them.  Even a few of the humans and Digimon that had come to the battle later were there, but not many.  "We won… Hey, Rime, how do you feel?" she asked as she turned to face him.  He was standing in front of a window, looking out into the city.  She fell silent at the sight.  Cracks ran through the earth; several buildings had fallen.

"I feel like I better get to work," Rime said solemnly.  "If I'm going to be a good emperor, I had better start now and help the people through this."  He smiled quirkily.  "Rebuilding is going to be hell."

"I thought this was supposed to be 'the angels' land'?" Brian half-joked.

Rime sighed.  "This 'angels' land' just suffered through the war we fought against Daemon.  A war of the angels' land… though this angels' land has never been heaven."

Phloem spoke up.  "I don't know," he said.  His voice had a strange tone to it that was reminiscent of Tapirmon.  "A person's heaven can be whatever they wish."

"Then let's bring these people's 'heaven' back to them."

********

Phloem/Tapirmon stood with Vahn on the castle walls, overlooking the reconstruction that was occurring.  "It is a good thing that so few people died," Phloem commented.

"It's bad that any died at all," Vahn countered.  Eleven people had died during the night during the battle, though few people had yet realized what had truly happened.  The ten or so residents of the region that had come to the battle at the same time as Vahn were slowly spreading the word.

Phloem nodded, agreeing with Vahn's statement.  "True."  Phloem looked Vahn in the eyes.  "Vahn, you aren't sure of how to act around me anymore, are you?"

Vahn shook his head.  "No…but also yes.  You're different: not quite Phloem, not quite Tapirmon.  You're the only true Hybrid in the world.  It's…" He shrugged, unsure of what to say.

"It's almost like being a weremon, I guess," Phloem said.  "Just think of me as Phloem _and_ Tapirmon."

Nodding, Vahn said, "I know.  At least, I think I know.  What do you think we'll be doing next…after all the reconstruction?"

"We can go abroad.  Spreading the word about Hybrids and weremon needs to be done.  Any prejudices have at least begin to end," Phloem replied.  "I think one day, when the Realization is truly over, there will be no such thing as a pure human or Digimon."  He paused.  "But, in the long run, that is not important to the relationship between you and me.  What is important is if you are in love with me or not."

"I love you," Vahn replied.  "There is no doubt in my mind."

"I know," said Phloem.  "And that's enough."  He smiled and carefully reached out to hold Vahn's hand.  And it was enough.

~**To Be Continued… **(Almost done…)~

**Chibigreen's Notes:** I can't believe I finished it.  I mean, I _finished_ it, won't be writing in it anymore, won't update it… It's done.  I'm kind of blown over.  Well, I know some people won't be quite happy with the ending, but…I tried.  I really did, but sometime during the second half of this fic it became a lot harder for me to write.  I just…didn't want to, I guess, but I really wanted to finish it.  And now I did.

I'd like to thank everyone for their support and comments throughout the span of this story.  It was crazy, the plot wasn't the best, and the only people that read it (more or less) were the people who put in a character or two… but, it was read, so I'm happy.  Even if you never reviewed, but happen to see this note, I hope that you enjoyed the story.  Thank you for reading.

**Fallen Angel** – I'm not sure if you're still reading this story, but both Magnus and Brian were nice characters to write.

**Merodi no Megami** – It was good to have Pixie in my story.  She was a very interesting character, and thank you for reviewing often.

**Steel Knight** – I know that my ending for the story may have messed up your continuation of it, but I haven't really hung around the Digimon section lately, so I don't know if it was updated.  Well, good luck it, if you choose to continue it.

**AlanAlectai **– It was nice to have a character who really wasn't very gung-ho.  Your reviews were always nice and supportive.

**ChibiSora** – You were probably one of the most frequent reviewers, and I have to thank you for that.  Relaina was a very noteworthy character.

**Tatsu no Houou** – You continually contacted me and provided interesting tidbits about Tatsu and Sakura.  It was nice to have a person that was so into the story, and I regret not being able to include more about Tatsu in my ficlet.

**Takeru and Hikari** – I was so happy when someone submitted a homosexual character so that I could pair him with Phloem.  And eventually Vahn became a very important character, so it was a good thing I accepted him into the story.  You have also been supportive in reviews and e-mails, and it has really helped me get motivated enough to finally wrap up this story.

**PrincessKitty-Chan** – What am I supposed to say to one of my best friends?  Oh, thank you for letting me discuss shounen-ai with you.  Fox Girl Aisha gets twitchy at that subject, doesn't she?  And, of course, thank you for being VERY supportive throughout the whole story, even when the support consisted of you pestering me until I had to write another chapter, and also for getting sad that I was ending it.  ^___^  What are friends for, huh?

And also a huge thanks to Fox Girl Aisha, Red Wolf, and every other person who ever reviewed!  THANK YOU!

But you're not done quite yet!  On to the epilogue.


	18. Epilogue

*Note: Chapter 16 and the Epilogue were uploaded together.*

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or any of the main characters in this fic except for Rime and Phloem.

**Chibigreen's Notes:**  Well, this is the end.  I hope you like it.  I tried not to really wrap up what happened to the characters in the future, so that it was left to the reader's imagination instead.

-=**Epilogue**=-

_Rime_,

_The past few years have been interesting, haven't they?_ _I just heard from Pixie; she and Brian seem to still get along quite well_._  I talked to my parents, too.  The townspeople of Haven are happy with Brian and Pixie governing there_.  _I'm glad you didn't appoint me to that position after all_.

_The new changes to your government are creating quite a stir_.  _What's our country's official name now?  The 'American Union'?  I heard that the merger with the southern and northern countries of Canada and Mexico is going well, despite the language barrier in the south_.  _You should've seen some of the European leaders when you announced that you were changing from an empire to a democracy!_  _The looks on their faces were priceless_.

_The faces were even more interesting when you announced the existence of weremon and hybrids, and announced that Digimon, humans, weremon, and hybrids all share equal rights in our country_.  _The law is having quite an effect here; activists are pushing for similar laws to be passed, and I think the governments will pass them_.  _Other massive political upheavals are occurring_;_ people that we saw at the roots of the Trees are beginning to take a stand in their countries' governments or at least make an impact on said governments_._  It's like watching the birth of a whole new world._

_How are Magnus and Relaina doing?_  _I haven't heard from them in a while; tell them to write!  Are they still just claiming to be associates?  I know that Relaina at least considers Magnus to be a close friend now_.  _They're training all the poor green recruits in the Guard, right?_  _There was a burst of people joining the Guard after jobs weren't chosen based on Digimon_.  _Even discrimination based on things like type of Digimon, presence of a Digimon partner, and race (human, weremon, hybrid) is greatly decreasing from what I heard, even though it still exists_.

_When I last heard from Alan, he was happily researching the Trees in the Indian Ocean and the Galapagos Islands.  Apparently, the spirits of the Trees are willing to talk to him, and they seem to know a lot_._  I heard he had gathered very useful information on weather patterns and ocean currents_.  _The Trees also seemed to have fixed some things wrong with the world, such as major cases of pollution, and made it better in general._  _Alan seems to be happy with what he's doing, and his father is happy that his son is being recognized for something_.

_Of course, Sho is still missing_.  _He likes to be alone, doesn't he?  He's still in America as far as I know, but that's the extent of my knowledge on him_.

_Did Tatsu and Sakura go back to wandering?_  _I heard they're looking for hybrids and weremon mistreated because of what they are_.  _They are officially a couple now, right?_  _They probably are happiest traveling, then_.  _I suppose they send the weremon and hybrid children to someplace safe?_

_And how does it feel being engaged to Kurai?  I _never_ thought she would agree to that!  She's still refusing to marry you, huh?  Poor you_.  _Maybe she's waiting until the Constitution with the northern and southern territories is ratified so that you officially won't be emperor anymore_._  I know she really cares about you, though she won't admit it_.

By the way, Vahn and I are doing fine in negotiating with the European countries.  Being the first ambassadors from America in a few hundred years is tough work!  They didn't like us at first; there was something against weremon and/or hybrids.  Now that human/Digimon mixes are more accepted, some communities of weremon are coming out of hiding, but I'm apparently still the first official hybrid.  I'm getting alone fine with Vahn, too.  He's such a sweet person.  I'm so lucky to have met him. 

_Good luck with the new Constitution_._  I know it will all go well_.__

_Best wishes_,

_Phloem_ _Greenhill_, _Tapirmon hybrid_, _American Union ambassador_

~**Owari (The End)**~


End file.
